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QUENCH  NOT 


THE    SPIRIT. 


BY 

NEWMAN  HALL,  LL.  B. 


AUTHOK   OF 

•  FOW,"   "  FOLLOW  JE3U8,"   "  COME  TO  JBSU8,"   Era 


NEW   YORK: 
ROBERT  CARTER  &  BROTHERS, 

No.     580     BKOADWAY. 
1860. 


EDWAED  0.  JENKINS, 

iirtntcr  &  Stfrfotnprt, 
No.  23  Fra>-kfop.t  Steket. 


CONTENTS. 


CnAP.  PAGE 

I.— QUENCH  NOT   THE    SPIEIT 5 

IL— DIVINE    SPIRITUAL   INFLUENCE  IS   A.... 

REASONABLE  DOCTRINE 10 

III.— DIVINE     SPIRITUAL    INFLUENCE    IS    A^ 

ACTUAL  FACT 13 

IV.— THE    HOLY  SPIRIT  OF  GOD IS 

v.— QUENCH  NOT  THE  SPIRIT— BY  HIM    SIN- 
NERS  ARE  CONVERTED 25 

VL— QUENCH  NOT  THE    SPIRIT— BY  HIM    BE- 
LIEVERS ARE  SANCTIFIED 2S 

VJL— FIRE  AN  EMBLEM  OF  THE  SPIRIT 31 

VIII.— AS  FIRE,  THE  SPIRIT  ENLIGHTENS 33 

IX.— AS  FIRE.  THE  SPIRIT  MELTS  AND  MOULDS 

THE  HEART 36 

X.— AS  FIRE,  THE  SPIRIT  PURIFIES 38 

XL— AS  FIRE,  THE  SPIRIT  PROMPTS  TO  HOLY 

EXERTION 40 

XII.— AS  FIRE,  THK  SPIRIT  CHEERS  42 

XIII.— A3   FIRE,  THE    SPIRIT    MAINTAINS    LIFE 

IN  THE  SOUL 44 

XIV.— POSSIBILITY  OF  QUENCHING  THE  SPIRIT    47 
XV.— MY  SPIRIT   SHALL  NOT  ALWAYS   STRIVE 

WITH   MAN  50 

XVI.— GOD'S  "GOOD  SPIRIT"  "REBELLED  A- 
GAINST,"  AND  "SINNERS  GIVEN  UP  TO 
THEIR    OWN    HEARTS'    LUSTS" ^ft 


4  CONTENTS. 

XVII.— THE   "HOLY    SPIRIT    VEXED"    AND    GOD 

"TURNED  TO  BE  AN  ENEMY" 55 

XVIII.—"  PARTAKERS  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST"  WHO 

"FALL  AWAY" 57 

XIX.— AS  FIRE  BY  WATER,  THE  SPIRIT  MAY  BE 

QUENCHED   BY  SIN 62 

XX.— AS    FIRE  BY    WATER,    THE    SPIRIT    MAY 

BE    QUENCHED   BY    RESISTANCE 66 

XXL— AS  FIRE  SMOTHERED   BY  RUBBISH,    THE 
SPIRIT  MAY  BE  QUENCHED  BY  WORLD- 

LINESS 68 

XXIL— AS    FIRE  BY  NOT   BEING    STIRRED,  THE 

SPIRIT  MAY  BE  QUENCHED  BY  NEGLECT    74 
XXIII.— AS  FIRE  BY  WANT  OF  FUEL,  THE  SPIRIT 
MAY    BE    QUENCHED    BY    NEGLECT    OF 

THE   WORD    OF   GOD  81 

XXIV.— AS   FIRE  BY  WANT  OF   AIR,    THE    SPIRIT 
MAY    BE    QUENCHED    BY  NEGLECTING 

TO  PRAY 84 

XXV.— READER!     ARE    YOU     QUENCHING     THE 

SPIRIT? 87 

XXVI. -THE    FOLLY,     GUILT,    AND    DANGER,    OF 

QUENCHING  THE  SPIRIT 92 

XXVII.— HOPE  FOR  ALL 98 

XXVIII.—"  QUENCH  NOT  THE  SPIRIT" 101 


QUENCH  NOT  THE  SPIRIT. 

A  MAN  lias  lost  his  way  in  a  dark  and 
dreary  mine.  By  the  light  of  one  candle 
which  he  carries  in  his  hand,  he  is  groping 
for  the  road  to  sunshine  and  to  home.  That 
light  is  essential  to  his  safety.  The  mine 
has  many  winding  passages  in  which  he  may 
be  hopelessly  bewildered  without  that  light. 
Here  and  there  marks  have  been  made  on 
the  rocks  to  point  out  the  true  path,  but  he 
cannot  see  them  without  that  light.  There 
are  many  deep  pits  into  which,  if  unwary, 
he  may  suddenly  sink,  but  he  cannot  avoid 
the  danger  without  that  light.  Should  it 
go  out,  he  must  soon  stumble,  fall,  perish. 
Should  it  go  out,  that  mine  will  be  his  tomb. 
How  carefully  he  carries  it !  How  anxious- 
ly he  shields  it  from  sudden  gusts  of  air, 
1*  (5) 


6  QUENCH   NOT  THE   SPIRIT. 

from  water  dropping  on  it,  from  everything 
that  might  quench  it! 

Reader,  the  case  described  is  your  own 
own.  You  are  like  that  lonely  wanderer  in 
the  mine.  Does  he  diligently  keep  alight  the 
candle  on  wliich  his  life  depends?  Much 
more  earnestly  should  you  give  heed  to  the 
warning,  "  Quench  not  the  Spirit."  Sin 
makes  our  road  both  dark  and  dangerous. 
If  God  gave  us  no  light,  we  should  never 
find  the  way  to  the  soul's  sunny  home — holi- 
ness and  heaven.  We  must  despair  of  ever 
reaching  our  Father's  house.  We  must 
perish  in  the  darkness  into  which  we  have 
wandered.  But  He  gives  us  his  Spirit  to  en- 
lighten, guide,  and  cheer  us.  In  the  works 
of  nature,  but  more  clearly  in  the  Volume 
of  Inspiration,  He  has  made  known  to  us 
his  will.  But  because  we  are  so  sinful  as 
not  to  see  and  profit  by  these  signal-posts  to 
heaven,  He  also,  by  the  inward  light  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  in  the  soul,  helps  us  to  behold, 
understand,   and   obey   the  truth.      If  that 


QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  7 

light  burns  dimly,  our  way  becomes  more 
gloomy  and  perilous.  We  go  astray  from 
the  right  path.  We  stumble  and  are  bruised 
by  sin.  Should  that  light  go  out,  mid- 
night darkness  reigns  around  us.  Should 
it  not  be  rekindled,  we  are  lost  for  ever. 
We  may  make  use  of  it,  guard  it,  nourish  it 
— or,  we  may  neglect  it,  despise  it,  quench 
it! 

Reader,  are  you  cherishing  this  sacred 
flame,  or  are  you  quenching  it?  Do  not 
avoid  the  question.  It  is  of  infinite  impor- 
tance. Do  not  think  of  it  as  appropriate  to 
other  people.  It  relates  to  yourself.  You 
have  a  personal,  an  individual,  interest  in  it. 
Your  own  safety  is  at  stake.  The  everlast- 
ing destiny  of  your  soul  is  involved.  Yes, 
you — each  reader  of  this  book — you,  indi- 
vidually, have  been  entrusted  with  some  por- 
tion of  heavenly  light,  by  which  you  may 
find  the  way  out  of  the  dark  and  deadly 
caverns  of  sin,  to  the  glorious  mansions  of 
the   love  of  God — the   soul's   bright  home. 


8  QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

And  you — each  reader — may,  by  putting  out 
that  light,  make  certain  your  eternal  ruin ! 
To  you  individually,  this  book  appeals — 
"  Quench  not  the  Spirit."  If  by  repentance 
and  faith,  which  can  only  be  produced  in  the 
soul  by  his  gracious  influences,  you  desire  to 
obtain  remission  of  your  sins,  and  peace  with 
God — "  Quench  not  the  Spirit."  If  you 
would  ever  escape  from  the  slavery  of  the 
devil,  into  the  freedom  of  loving  and  serv- 
ing God,  if  you  would  thus  enjoy  his 
fatherly  protection  in  this  life,  and  then 
dwell  with  Him  for  ever — "  Quench  not  the 
Spirit."  If  you  would  become  in  reality,  a 
"  member  of  Christ,  a  child  of  God,  and  an 
inheritor  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven" — 
"  Quench  not  the  Spirit."  Whether  your 
destiny  is  to  be  light  or  darkness,  holiness 
or  sin,  happiness  or  woe,  heaven  or  hell,  de- 
pends on  your  response  to  the  appeal — 
"  Quench  not  the  Spirit."  The  God  of  Love 
who  desires  not  the  death  of  a  sinner — the 
God   of  Love  who,  to  help  you  to  return 


QUENCH    NOT    THE   SPIRIT.  0 

home  to  himself,  entrusts  youwitli  this  pre- 
cious gift — implores  you  not  to  despise  it, 
but  says  while  He  bestows  it — "  Quench  not 
the  Spirit." 

John  i.  9  ;  iii.  1-8  ;  1  Thess.  v.  19  ;  Eph. 
iv.  30. 


II. 


DIVINE  SPIRITUAL  INFLUENCE  IS  A  REASONABLE 
DOCTRINE. 

You  may  perhaps  doubt  whether  it  is  con- 
sistent with  sound  reason  to  suppose  that 
God  does  or  can  influence  the  minds  of  free 
agents.  If  so,  before  reading  the  exhorta- 
tions which  follow,  think  over  these  short 
arguments.  1.  Divine  influence  extends 
throughout  the  universe.  By  this,  the  stars 
shine.  By  this,  tlie  planets  keep  their  path. 
"  Not  a  sparrow  falleth,"  not  a  flower  bloom- 
eth,  without  God.  Omnipresent,  He  is  as 
near  to  every  thinking  being  as  to  every 
lifeless  atom.  Himself  a  Spirit,  He  can  in- 
fluence spirits  as  easily  as  material  sub- 
stances. If  He  leaves  to  itself  no  part  of 
the  visible  universe,  it  is  not  likely  that  He 
creates  and  then  abandons  immortal  natures, 

(10) 


QUENCH   XOT   THE   SPIRIT.  11 

without  any  effort  to  secure  the  higliest  wel- 
fare of  which  He  makes  them  capable.  2.  God 
has  so  made  us,  that,  in  harmony  with  our 
individual  freedom  and  responsibility  we  in- 
fluence one  another.  Is  it  unreasonable 
to  suppose  that  the  Spirit  of  God  can  thus 
influence  us?  3.  What  Omnipotence  ren- 
ders possible,  we  may  well  suppose  Loye  will 
prompt.  Our  Father  who  cares  for  the  body, 
will  not  be  unmindful  of  the  soul.  May  it 
not  be  expected  that  He  who  ''  desireth  not 
the  death  of  a  sinner,  but  that  he  turn  from 
his  wickedness  and  live,"  will  by  his  Spirit,  in. 
cline  the  sinner  thus  to  turn  ?  May  we  not 
hope  that  He  will  help  us,  by  kind  persua- 
sions, to  ''  lay  hold  of  eternal  life,"  so  that  if 
we  perish  it  is  because  we  wilfully  resist 
Him,  and  not  because  He  never  strove  with 
us  for  our  salvation  ?  4.  Divine  spiritual 
influences  are  mysterious,  but  so  are  in- 
fluences in  nature.  None  doubts  the  existence 
of  the  winds,  but  none  can  explain  all  their 
causes  and  courses.     When  Jesus  taught  the 


12  QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

necessity  of  being  "  born  again,"  he  thus  re- 
ferred to  the  author  of  this  new  life — "  The 
wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth,  and  thou  hear- 
est  the  sound  thereof,  but  canst  not  tell 
whence  it  cometh  and  whither  it  goeth  ;  so 
is  every  one  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit." 
There  are  mysteries  connected  with  flame, 
light,  and  heat,  which  science  has  not  solved. 
And  shall  we  be  surprised  if  there  are  mys- 
teries in  spiritual  influence,  which  is  com- 
pared to  fire,  and  which  we  are  warned  not 
to  quench?  5.  That  which  reason  shows  to 
be  possible  and  probable,  Scripture,  as  will 
be  seen  in  the  following  pages,  affirms  as 
actual.  Experience  corroborates  the  truth. 
God  does  work  in  human  souls.  The  exhor- 
tation— "  Quench  not  the  Spirit,"  is  no  mere 
figure  of  speech.  His  influence  on  our  minds 
is  a  reality.  Our  resistance  to  that  influence 
is  a  reality.  Multitudes,  alas,  to  their  own 
destruction,  do  quench  the  Spirit ! 


III. 

DIVINE    SPIEITUAL    INFLTJENCE  IS   AH 
ACTUAL  FACT. 

It  is  a  solemn  reality,  reader,  that  God 
not  only  sent  his  Son  to  die,  but  also  by  his 
Spirit  works  within  you  for  your  salvation. 
"  God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  his 
only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believetli 
in  Him  should  not  perish  but  have  everlast- 
ing life."  If  thou,  reader,  wilt  come  to 
Jesus,  thou  shalt  obtain  eternal  life.  But 
Jesus  has  already  come  to  thee,  by  his  Spirit. 
God  seeks  thy  salvation,  not  only  by  sending 
his  Son  to  work /or  thee,  but  by  sending  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  work  within  thee.  As  truly 
as  Jesus  died  to  obtain  the  pardon  of  our 
sins,  the  Spirit  strives  with  our  wicked  liearts 
to  induce  us  to  accept  this  pardon,  and  to 
2  (13) 


14  QUENCH    NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

make  us  holy.  Do  not  fancy  God  is  far 
from  thee.  He  is  near,  very  near  thee. 
Think  not  of  Him  as  working  only  outside 
of  thee  ;  He  is  also  working  within  thee. 
Every  good  thought  is  from  Him.  Every 
holy  desire  is  prompted  by  Him.  The  un- 
easiness you  feel  when  about  to  commit  some 
sinful  act,  the  remorse  which  follows  its  com- 
mission, are  produced  by  Him.  Whenever 
you  are  conscious  of  a  wish  to  pay  attention 
to  religion,  to  read  the  Bible,  to  pray,  to 
amend  your  life,  to  seek  salvation,  God  is 
then  striving  with  you.  His  Spirit,  as  a 
friendly  light,  is  struggling  to  burn  amidst 
the  dark  places  of  your  soul,  that  you  may 
see  your  danger,  and  escape  by  the  road 
which  He  alone  makes  visible.  Extinguish 
not  that  flame ! — "  Quench  not  the  Spirit !" 

Suppose  a  son,  whom  you  tenderly  love, 
enters  on  a  course  of  dissipation,  and 
leaves  his  home.  You  love  him  still.  Your 
heart  yearns  over  him.  You  send  letter  after 
letter  to  him.     Some  of  your  epistles  breathe 


QUENCH    NOT   THE    SPIRIT.  15 

righteous  displeasure.  Others  speak  only 
the  language  of  tenderness.  All  are  dic- 
tated by  love.  Some  he  destroys  as  soon  as 
he  recognizes  your  writing.  Others  he  reads 
only  to  smile  at  them  with  scorn.  If  for  a 
moment  your  appeals  affect  his  mind,  he 
plunges  into  fresh  follies  in  order  to  drive 
away  the  rising  remorse.  You  go  in  pursuit 
of  him.  If  he  sees  you  coming  he  avoids  you, 
lie  hides  away.  If  you  find  him.  and  remon- 
strate with  him,  and  by  gentle  violence  try 
to  lead  him  homeward,  he  heartlessly  repuls- 
es you,  and  with  rude  violence  bursts  from 
your  embrace.  His  career  of  profligacy 
brings  him  into  trouble.  Poverty,  disease, 
disgrace,  overwhelm  him.  When  all  else  for- 
sake him,  you  make  this  sorrow,  brought  on 
by  his  own  wickedness,  the  occasion  of  re- 
newed appeals.  You  assure  him  you  have 
still  a  father's  heart  for  him.  You  still  in- 
vite him  to  come  home.  You  promise  to 
forgive  and  forget  all  that  it  past  if  only  he 
will   now  return.     But  he  still  persists  in 


16  QUENCH    NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

rejecting  your  love.  He  still  avoids  you,  or 
rudely  bids  you  begone,  while  you  lovingly 
linger,  still  unwilling  to  give  him  up. 

0  reader,  it  is  thus  tliat  you  treat  God,  if 
you  remain  impenitent.  Do  not  suppose  that 
remorse  and  good  desires  are  merely  the  pro- 
duce of  your  own  mind,  to  heed  or  neglect 
as  you  please.  By  them  your  heavenly  Fa- 
ther kindlv  entreats  his  wanderinor  child  to 
return  home.  He  comes  in  pursuit  of  you. 
His  hand  is  laid  on  you,  his  arm  of  tender- 
ness is  placed  around  you,  his  voice  of  love 
addresses  you.  By  threatenings,  promises, 
expostulations  ;  by  mercies  and  chastise- 
ments ;  by  mysterious  but  most  real  influ- 
ences on  your  heart,  He  urges  you  to  forsake 
sin  and  misery,  and  return  to  Himself,  that 
you  may  rejoice  both  now  and  for  ever.  0. 
beware  what  you  do,  when  you  resist  holy  in- 
clinations. It  is  much  more  than  a  struggle 
with  your  own  thoughts.  You  are  opposing 
your  Creator !  You  are  fighting  against 
God  !     You  are  aiming  blows  at  your  Fa- 


QUENCH   XOT   THE   SPIRIT.  17 

tlicr,  while  lie  is  in  the  very  act  of  persuad- 
ing his  foolish,  wicked  child,  to  receive  par- 
don, life  and  bliss  eternal !  No  longer,  read- 
er, no  longer  thus  ungratefully,  monstrously, 
madly  contend  with  Him !  Listen  to  his 
voice  !  Yield  to  his  persuasions  !  Be  won 
by  his  love  !  Quench  not  his  Spirit ! 
2* 


IV. 

THE  HOLY  SPraiT  OF  GOD. 

There  is  one  God.  This  is  the  first  truth 
of  religion.  But  the  mode  of  his  existence 
is  a  mystery,  into  the  depths  of  which  we  can 
obtain  only  partial  glimpses.  The  Bible 
which  asserts  the  divine  unity,  speaks  also 
of  a  distinction  in  the  Godhead.  Jesus,  the 
Son  of  Gocl^  said — "  I  will  pray  the  Father, 
and  He  shall  give  you  another  Comforter, 
even  the  Spirit  of  TrutliP  He  commanded 
his  disciples  to  "  teach  all  nations,  baptizing 
them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  The  Apostol- 
ic benediction  prays  for  "  The  grace  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  love  of  God,  and  the 
communion  of  the  Holy  GhostJ''  Honor  is 
here  rendered  to  the  Spirit  equally  with  the 
Father  and  the  Son.  Divine  attributes  and 
works  are  ascribed  to  Him.  He  is  referred 
(18) 


QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  19 

to  as  possessing  a  distinct  personal  agency  : 
as  the  producer  of  holiness  in  human  souls  ; 
and  as  a  Being  against  whom,  as  against 
God,  sin  may  be  committed.  The  Father, 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  One  in  essence, 
are  One  in  purpose,  as  regards  the  salvation 
of  sinners.  But  their  functions  are  distinct. 
The  Father  is  represented  as  sending  tlie  Son 
to  make  atonement,  and  the  Spirit  to  influ- 
ence the  mind  to  believe  the  Gospel.  The 
Father  invites  the  prodigal  to  return  home  ; 
the  Son  prepares  the  road  and  carries  the 
message  ;  the  Spirit  persuades  us  to  comply 
with  the  divine  call. 

See  John  xiv.  16  ;  xv.  26;  Matt,  xxviii.  19  ; 
Rom.  viii.  11  ;  1  Cor.  ii.  10,  11  ;  Mark  xii. 
36  ;  xiii.  11  ;  Acts  ii.  4 ;  v.  32  ;  xiii.  2  ;  xx. 
28  ;  Matt.  xii.  31  ;  Acts  v.  3  ;  and  all  the 
texts  illustrating  the  work  of  the  Spirit, 
quoted  in  the  following  pages. 

The  Spirit  is  therefore  Divine,  and  infi- 
nitely glorious.  He  hath  almighty  power. 
He  is  always  near  to  every  one  of  us.     He 


20  QUEXCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

searches  our  hearts,  and  knows  our  most 
secret  thoughts  and  motives.  An  offence 
aorainst  Him  is  an  offence  asrainst  Infinite 
Majesty.  He  could  at  any  moment  punish 
the  unspoken  thought  which  dishonors  Him. 
Let  us  •'  stand  in  awe,  and  sin  not." 

He  is  a  HOLY  SPIRIT.  This  is  his  pe- 
culiar title — '"  the  Holy  Ghost.''  Absolute 
moral  perfection  is  a  necessity  of  his  Being. 
He  loves  it  and  rejoices  in  it.  It  is  his  spe- 
cial office  to  produce  holiness  in  men.  By 
Him  sinners  are  induced  to  repent,  to  love 
God,  to  practise  righteousness.  By  Him,  the 
soul  is  sanctified,  or  made  more  and  more 
holy,  until  at  last  it  attains  perfection.  All 
that  is  pure  and  lovely  in  angels  or  men, 
flows  from  the  Holy  Spirit  as  its  Author  and 
Source. 

He  is  a  LOVIXG  SPIRIT.  Some  per- 
sons think  of  Him  only  with  fear.  They 
tremble  at  liis  presence.  They  are  in  ter- 
ror lest  they  should  incur  his  awful  dis- 
pleasure.     But    he    is    their   true,   tender, 


QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  21 

forbearing,  most  compassionate  Friend  !  The 
Bible  reveals  to  us  the  Love  of  the  Spirit,  no 
less  clearly  than  his  Divine  Majesty  !  A  lit- 
tle child  has  disobeyed  and  displeased  its 
father.  It  cannot  be  happy  until  it  has  ob- 
tained forgiveness.  It  needs  some  gift  from 
him,  but  knows  not  how  to  ask  it,  and  fears 
to  approach  him.  But  the  motlicr  takes 
that  child  in  her  arms,  calms  its  fears,  speaks 
soothing  "words  of  encouragement,  and  as- 
sures it  that  its  father  loves  it  still.  She 
promises  to  take  it  to  him,  she  teaches  it 
what  to  say,  puts  words  into  its  mouth,  leads 
it  by  the  hand,  and  prompts  it  to  speak. 
Then  father  and  mother  rejoice  together  over 
that  repentant  and  now  confiding  little  one. 
Thus  "  The  Spirit  afeo  helpeth  our  infirmi- 
ties, for  we  know  not  what  we  should  pray 
for  as  we  ought,  but  the  Spirit  himself  makcth 
intercession  within  us,  with  groan ings  which 
cannot  be  uttered."  With  all  a  mother's 
tenderness.  He  encourages,  prompts,  and 
helps  us  to  come  to  our  Father  !     St.  Paul 


22  QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

beseeches  the  Romans  to  pray,  "  for  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ's  sake,  and  for  tlie  love  of  the 
Spirit.^'  The  Spirit  who  produces  love,  must 
himself  be  loving.  As  "  God  is  Love,"  so 
the  Spirit  is  Love.  All  his  work  for  sinners 
proves  it.  Just  as  willingly  as  Jesus  under- 
took the  work  of  atonement  by  dying  for  sin, 
the  Spirit  undertakes  the  work  of  teaching, 
purifying,  and  comforting  the  souls  of  men. 
Though  so  infinitely  glorious.  He  condescends 
to  labor  for  the  good  of  creatures  so  insig- 
nificant as  we.  Though  so  holy.  He  comes 
into  our  unholy  hearts  to  cleanse  and  save 
them.  Into  what  multitudes  of  souls  cor- 
rupted with  wickedness  has  He  entered ! 
How  kindly  and  patiently  does  he  strive 
with  us !  How  repeatedly  He  warns  us, 
though  we  repeatedly  sliglit  those  warnings ! 
How  He  perseveres  in  drawing  us  towards 
heaven,  though  we  persist  in  drawing  back 
towards  perdition  !  How,  as  the  light  of 
life,  He  continues  to  burn  within  our  hearts, 
though  we  put  forth  such  repeated  efforts  to 


QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  23 

quench  it !  The  history  of  every  unconvert- 
ed sinner  who  reads  this  book,  illustrates  the 
loving  character  of  the  Spirit.  And  so  does 
the  experience  of  every  believer.  Careless, 
inattentive,  forgetful,  wayward,  worldly,  as 
we  all  are  at  the  best,  would  He  continue 
to  be  our  Teacher  and  Guide,  if  He  were 
not  a  most  loving  Spirit?  Would  He,  after 
so  many  slights,  still  act  the  part  of  a  Friend  ? 
The  "  Comforter"  is  a  title  emphatically  giv- 
en Him  by  Christ.  Look  at  the  sad  and  sor- 
rowing group  assembled  in  that  upper  room. 
The  disciples  are  gazing  through  tears  on 
their  Lord  and  Master,  soon  about  to  leave 
them.  Wliat  shall  they  do  without  Him?  He 
had  ever  been  so  considerate,  so  tender,  so 
consoling,  as  well  as  so  mighty,  wise,  and  holy, 
that  they  are  plunged  in  despair  at  the 
thought  of  losing  Him.  And  how  does  He 
soothe  their  anguish  ? — "  I  will  send  you  anoth- 
er Comforter^  even  the  Spirit  of  Truth.''  An- 
other,  a  counterpart  to  myself,  who  will  act 
towards  you  as  I  have  done,  who  will  mani- 


24  QUENCH    NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

fest  the  same  patience,  tenderness,  compas- 
sion— "  Another  Comforter."  This  is  his 
name — the  Paraclete,  the  Helper,  the  Con- 
soler, who  reveals  a  Saviour  to  mourning 
sinners,  who  inspires  with  filial  confidence 
trembling  souls,  leading  them  to  God  as 
their  loving  Father,  and  guiding  tliem  to 
heaven  as  their  everlasting  home.  Adore 
Him  as  glorious,  venerate  Him  as  holy,  but 
trust  Him  also  as  Love.  Grieve  not  such  a 
friend  by  trembling  suspicion.  Picture  Him 
in  your  mind  not  as  a  stern  reprover,  prompt 
to  take  offence,  speedy  to  punish  :  but  as  a 
Teacher  most  gentle  and  painstaking,  as  a 
Guide  most  faithful  and  considerate,  as  a 
Comforter  most  tender  and  sympathizing,  as 
a  Friend  whose  kind  exertions  on  our  be- 
half nothing  can  clieck  but  our  own  wilful 
rejection.  If  not  awe  for  his  majesty,  if  not 
reverence  for  his  holiness,  surely  gratitude 
for  his  love  should  prompt  us  to  give  heed 
to  the  exhortation — "  Quench  not  the  Spirit.'' 
John  xiv.  16,  26  ;  Rom.  viii.  26  :  xv.  30. 


V. 


QXTENCH  NOT  THE  SPIRIT-BY  HIM  SINNEES 
AEE  CONVERTED. 

To  quench  the  Spirit  is  most  wicked,  for 
it  is  resistance  to  God.  It  is  also  most  ruin- 
ous, for  withont  the  Spirit,  we  must  perish. 
Nothing  is  plainer  in  the  Bible  than  tliis — 
"without  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the 
Lord."  It  is  also  clear,  that  "  the  heart  is 
deceitful  above  all  things  and  desperately 
wicked."  Unless  our  sinful  nature  is  changed 
we  cannot  be  saved.  Jesus  said  "  Except  ye 
be  converted  ye  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  Marvel  not  that  I  said  unto  you — 
Ye  must  be  born  again."  We  must  lead  a 
new  life.  We  must  repent  and  forsake  our 
sins.  We  must  renounce  all  merit  of  our 
own,  and  trust  only  in  Christ.  Love  to  God 
instead  of  self-pleasing,  must  rule  in  our 
hearts.  And  let  no  one  think  this  great 
3  (25) 


26  QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

change  is  necessary  for  the  heathen  alone. 
Multitudes  brought  up  as  Christians  need  to 
be  converted  quite  as  much  as  idolaters. 
Their  guilt  is  greater  in  proportion  to  their 
privileges.  Not  only  the  profligate,  but  all 
who  love  not  God,  need  to  be  thus  converted. 
It  is  true  of  every  one,  that  except  he  be  born 
again  he  cannot  be  saved.  Can  we  bring 
this  about  of  ourselves  ?  Will  a  sinful 
nature  ever  make  itself  holy?  Will  a  cor- 
rupt heart  desire  purity  ?  "  Who  can  bring 
a  clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean  ?  Not  one." 
The  Holy  Spirit  comes  to  help  us.  If  born 
again,  we  are  "  born  of  the  Spirit."  They 
who  were  "  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins"  are 
"  quickened,"  or  made  alive  by  Him  alone. 
We  read  of  the  "  renewing  of  the  Holy 
Ghost."  He  effects  this,  by  persuading  tlie 
mind  to  attend  to  the  truths  He  has  revealed. 
He  arouses  the  conscience.  He  shows  us  the 
great  guilt  of  having  neglected  the  salva- 
tion of  the  Son  of  God.  He  draws  us  to 
the   Cross.     He  helps  us  to  believe.     He  in- 


QUENCH   XOT   THE    SPIRIT.  2/ 

clines  us  to  pray.  Ho  assists  us  to  over- 
come temptation.  If  He  did  not  thus  "  work 
in  us,"  we  should  never  "  work  out  our  own 
salvation."  We  should  remain  hardened  in 
impenitence,  and  should  perish  for  ever.  How 
important  then  that  we  should  not  quench 
the  Spirit !  For  if  we  banish  the  thoughts 
He  suggests,  and  repress  the  emotions  He 
awakens — if  thus  we  reject  the  help  of  Him 
without  whom  we  shall  never  turn  to  God, 
how  can  we  escape  the  damnation  of  hell  ? 
0  reader,  if  you  have  any  intention  or  desire 
to  become  a  Christian  ;  if  you  would  not  be 
for  ever  a  slave  of  the  devil ;  if  you  would 
not  experience  the  curse — "  he  that  is  filthy, 
let  him  be  filthy  still," — "  Quench  not  the 
Spirit ! 

Heb.  xii.  14  ;  Jer.  xvii.  9  ;  Matt,  xviii. 
3  :  John  iii.  7,  8  ;  xvi.  8-11  ;  Job  xiv.  4 ; 
Eph.  ii.  1  ;  Tit.  iii.  5  ;  Phil.  ii.  12, 13  ;  Rev. 
xxii.  11. 


VI. 


QUENCH  NOT  THE   SPIRIT-BY  HIM  BELIEVEES 
AEE  SANCTIFIED. 

If  as  a  Christian,  you  would  be  happy, 
holy,  and  useful, "  Quench  not  the  Spirit." 
We  need  his  help  throughout  our  whole 
journey  to  heaven,  and  not  merely  when  we 
take  the  first  step.  If  no  one  is  ever  con- 
verted without  the  Spirit,  it  is  equally  true 
that  we  shall  not  bring  forth  the  fruits  of 
holiness  without  the  same  gracious  assist- 
ance. There  can  be  no  true  religion  with- 
out love.  But  our  love  is  the  effect  of  God's 
love  to  us  ;  and  "  The  love  of  God  is  shed 
abroad  in  our  hearts,  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
which  is  given  unto  us."  1  John  iv.  19  : 
Rom.  V.  5.  Are  we  to  cherish  a  childlike 
confidence  in  God  ? — It  can  only  be  by  the 
Spirit.  "  We  have  received  the  Spirit  of 
Adoption,  whereby   we   cry  Abba,  Father." 

(28) 


QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  29 

Rom.  viii.  15.  Is  prayer  the  life  of  piety  ? — 
We  know  not  how  to  pray  aright,  but  '•  the 
Sjjirit  helpeth  our  infirmities."  Rom.  viii. 
20.  How  can  we  overcome  the  temptations 
of  the  flesh  ? — "  If  ye,  through  the  Spirit, 
mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body,  ye  shall  lire.'' 
Rom.  viii.  13.  How  are  we  to  ''  bring  forth 
fruits  meet  for  repentance  ?"' — •"  The  fruit  of 
the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering, 
gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  tem- 
perance." Gal.  V.  22,  23.  Does  God  dwell 
in  human  hearts  ? — "  We  are  an  habitation 
of  God,  through  the  Spirits  Eph.  ii.  22. 
Need  we  strength  to  do  the  will  of  God  ? — 
We  are  "  strengthened  with  might  by  His 
SpiritJ^  Eph.  iii.  16.  Do  we  desire  a  sure 
evidence  of  being  the  children  of  God  ? — 
"  As  many  as  are  led  ly  the  Spirit  of  God, 
they  are  the  sons  of  God."  Rom.  viii.  14. 
Would  we  be  comforted  in  trouble,  and  "  go 
on  our  way  rejoicing?"  —  The  disciples 
walked  ''  in  the  comfort  of  the  Holy  Ghost."' 
Acts  ix.  31.     "  The  kingdom  of  God  is  joy 


30  QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

in  the  Holy  Ghost.''  Rom.  xiv.  17.  Would 
we  be  "saved  by  hope?" — Christians 
"  abound  in  hope,  through  the  jjoicer  of  the 
Holy  Ghosty  Rom.  xv.  13.  If  your  re- 
ligion is  anything  better  than  a  mere  pro- 
fession, you  earnestly  desire  these  spiritual 
blessings.  You  feel  that  it  is  not  so  impor- 
tant to  be  healthy  as  to  be  holy,  to  be  rich  as 
to  be  righteous,  to  be  T\^ell  off  in  this  world, 
as  to  serve  God  in  it,  and  to  be  ready  to 
leave  it  whenever  He  calls  you  away.  To 
make  daily  progress  in  humility,  faith, 
prayerfulness,  purity — to  rejoice  in  Jesus  as 
your  Saviour,  to  imitate  Him,  to  obey  Him. 
and  to  wait  for  his  glorious  appearing — this 
is  to  you  infinitely  more  important  than  any 
worldly  object.  But  for  this,  the  aid  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  essential.  Therefore,  how  in- 
finitely important  is  it  that  you  "  Quench  not 
the  Spirit." 


yii. 

FIEE  AN  EMBLEM  OF  THE  SPIEIT. 

The  warning  ''  Quench  not  the  Spirit," 
suggests  the  idea  of  fire.  We  are  exhorted 
to  keep  alive  the  sacred  flame  kindled  in  the 
heart  by  God  himself.  As  the  early  Chris- 
tians were  commanded  not  to  repress  the 
supernatural  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  so  we 
are  not  to  discourage,  and  thus  to  quench, 
his  more  ordinary  but  far  more  important 
promptings  to  the  exercise  of  faith,  love,  and 
holiness.  On  the  day  of  Pentecost  "  there" 
appeared  to  the  disciples  cloven  tongues,  like 
as  of  fire^  and  they  were  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost."  He  rested  on  the  Apostles, 
and  on  their  ministry,  as  a  light-giving  and 
purifying  influence.  The  Spirit  was  the 
reality,  of  wliich  fire  was  an  emblem.  In 
harmony  with  these  statements,  Timothy  is 

C31) 


32  QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

exhorted  to  "  stir  up  the  gift  of  God  which 
was  in  him  ;"  as  a  fire  which  might  die  out 
unless  it  were  stirred,  and  supplied  with  fuel. 
As  fire,  the  Spirit  enlightens  our  minds,  re- 
vealing both  our  sin  and  our  Saviour.  He 
melts  the  heart,  and  moulds  it  anew.  He 
purifies  it  from  dross.  He  impels  it  to  obe- 
dience. He  fills  it  with  the  warmth  of  love 
and  joy.  Thus  He  maintains  the  life  of 
the  soul,  for  without  Him  we  should  remain 
for  ever  "  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins."  Acts 
ii.  3,  4  ;  1  Thess.  v.  19  ;  2  Tim.  i.  6. 


YIII. 

AS  FIRE,  THE  SPIRIT  ENLIGHTENS. 

Fire  gives  light.  How  dark  and  dismal 
would  be  the  long  winter  night  without  the 
friendly  aid  of  gas,  candle,  or  lamp  !  Nei- 
ther labor  nor  recreation  would  be  pos- 
sible. So  in  the  darkness  which  sin  has 
caused  we  should  never  "work  out  our  own 
salvation  ;"we  should  never  "rejoice  in  the 
Lord  ;"  if  the  Spirit  did  not  shine  within  us. 
Only  by  the  help  of  this  Divine  Enlightener 
do  we  discover  our  guilt  and  danger.  He 
shows  us  the  plague-spots  of  our  heart.  By 
his  light  we  find  out  our  sinfulness,  which 
was  concealed  from  us  before,  even  as  a  ray 
of  sunshine  let  into  a  dark  room  reveals  the 
dust  and  stains  which  the  darkness  had  hid- 
den. He  makes  known  to  us  the  power  and 
willingness  of  Christ  to   save  us  from  this 

(33) 


34  QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

ruin,  and  to  enable  us  to  love  and  serve 
God,  according  to  the  promise — '•  The  Spirit 
of  truth  shall  receive  of  mine,  and  show  it 
unto  you."  By  the  Spirit  "  God  hath  shined 
in  our  hearts  to  give  tlie  light  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  glory  of  God.  in  the  face  of 
Jesus  Christ."  He  gives  us  "  the  Spirit  of 
wisdom  and  revelation  in  the  knowledge 
of  Him."  By  natural  reason  we  may  learn 
the  letter  of  divine  truth  ;  but  only  by  the 
light  of  the  Spirit  shall  we  learn  to  love  and 
obey  it.  We  may  understand  the  theory 
of  salvation  as  a  question  of  theological 
science,  but  He  alone  can  so  shine  upon  "  the 
way  of  holiness,'"'  as  that  we  shall  be  prompt- 
ed to  travel  along  it  to  heaven. 

In  a  dark  and  stormy  night,  a  vessel  is  sail- 
ing towards  the  harbor.  The  wind  howls, 
the  waves  run  high,  and  beat  angrily  against 
a  reef  of  rocks  near  the  shore.  In  the 
darkness  how  shall  those  sailors  escape  the 
peril  and  steer  their  ship  safely  into  port? 
As  they  look  anxiously  into  the  gloom,  the 


QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  35 

lighthouse  casts  its  friendly  beacon  over  the 
raging  waters.  Now  they  can  guide  their 
ship  through  the  storm.  But  should  that 
light  go  out,  they  will  not  be  able  to  avoid 
the  danger.  Suppose  the  keeper  of  the 
lighthouse  should  neglect  to  trim  the  lamp — 
should  forget  to  supply  it  with  oil — should 
cover  it  up,  or  deliberately  put  it  out  I 
Would  he  not  cause  the  death  of  all  who 
are  in  the  ship  ?  Reader,  though  the  Spirit 
gives  the  light,  there  is  a  sense  in  which  you 
have  the  charge  of  the  liglithouse  !  Xt  the 
same  time  your  own  soul  is  the  ship  in 
danger !  If  you  let  the  light  of  the  Spirit 
go  out,  you  will  never  reach  the  port  of 
heaven !  Your  immortal  nature  will  be 
driven  by  the  waves  of  sin  against  the  rocks 
of  perdition,  a  battered  wreck  for  ever  !  0 
then,  "  Quench  not  the  Spirit !"  Job  xlii.  5, 
6  ;  John  xvi.  13,  14  ;  2  Cor.  iv.  6  ;  Eph.  i. 
71,  18. 


IX. 


AS  FIRE,  THE  SPIEIT  MELTS  AND  MOULDS  THE 
HEART. 


Fire  softens  iron.  Metals,  however  hard 
and  unyielding,  become  ductile  under  its  in- 
fluence. The  iron  which  would  not  other- 
wise yield  to  the  heaviest  blows,  may,  when 
heated,  he  moulded  into  new  shapes  for  use 
or  ornament.  So  the  heart  of  man,  hard- 
ened by  sin,  becomes  plastic  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Melted  by  this 
flame  of  love  and  made  soft  with  godly  sorrow, 
it  is  moulded  anew  by  the  hand  of  God.  In- 
stead of  a  vessel  of  wrath,  it  now  becomes  a 
vessel  of  mercy.  Instead  of  a  tool  for  the 
devil's  use,  it  is  now  an  instrument  employed 
by  God  for  his  glory.  But  the  kind  influ- 
ences put  forth  for  your  salvation,  may,  by 
resistance,  be  perverted  to  your  destruction. 
Suppose  the  fire  by  which  your  heart  is  now 

(36) 


QUENCH    NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  37 

in  some  measure  softened  should  be  put  out ! 
Will  not  your  heart,  like  iron  heated  and 
uluDp^od  into  water,  become  harder  than  be- 
I'ore  ?  ;May  it  not  remain  cold  and  dead  to 
the  love  of  God  forever  ?  May  it  not  be 
steeled  in  impenitence,  with  the  marks  of 
rejected  mercy  stamped  upon  it  forever,  "  a 
vessel  of  wrath,  fitted  for  destruction  ?" 
Will  not  resisted  grace  thus  complete  your 
ruin,  and  the  memory  of  it  be  an  eternal  tor- 
ment ?     0,  then,  "  Quench  not  the  Spirit." 


X. 

AS  FIRE,  THE  SPIEIT  PURIFIES. 

Fire  purifies.  Precious  metals,  thrown  in- 
to the  furnace,  are  refined  by  the  heat.  The 
dross  is  separated  and  burnt  up,  while  the 
pure  gold  alone  remains.  So  the  Spirit  of 
God  destroys  the  corruptions  of  the  soul. 
The  divine  nature  originally  imparted,  was 
debased  by  the  fall.  How  has  the  fine  gold 
become  dim  !  How  has  it  been  overlaid,  yea, 
transmuted  by  sinful  indulgence  !  "  The 
heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things  and  des- 
perately wicked."  Only  through  the  Spirit's 
influence  can  man's  fallen  nature  again  be- 
come divine.  By  his  help  we  "  deny  ungod- 
liness and  wordly  lusts,"  "  crucify  the  flesh," 
and  *'  mortify  our  affections  which  are  of  the 
earth."  The  "  furnace  of  affliction"  has  in 
itself  no  purifying  power,  but  needs  the  fire 
kindled  by  the  Spirit,  to  make  it  effectual. 

(38) 


QUENCH    NOT   THE    SPIRIT.  39 

Souls  under  this  influence  become  increas- 
ingly holy,  their  corruptions  being  burnt  up 
and  destroyed,  until  in  heaven  the  saints  of 
God  appear  as  refined  gold,  seven  times  pu- 
rified. If  then  we  would  not  have  the  dross 
of  sin  cleaving  to  us  eternally  ;  if  we  would 
dwell  in  tliat  heavenly  city  whose  streets  are 
pmx  gold,  and  into  which  none  who  are  un- 
holy can  enter,  let  us  beware  that  we 
"  Quench  not  the  Spirit." 

Isa.  i.  25  ;  Zech.  xiii.  9  ;  Mai.  iii.  2,  3,  4. 


XI. 

AS  FIEE,  THE  SPIRIT  PROMPTS  TO  HOLY  EXERTION. 

Fire  produces  motion.  Build  a  factory  ; 
construct  macliinery  ;  put  up  a  steam  en- 
gine ;  prepare  the  furnace  ;  but  all  stands 
still.  There  is  no  motion  so  long  as  there  is 
no  fire.  Those  wheels,  however  perfect  their 
construction,  will  not  revolve,  unless  steam 
is  generated  by  heat.  The  Holy  Spirit  in 
the  soul,  is  like  fire  to  a  steam  engine. 
'•  He  worketh  in  us  both  to  will  and  to  do." 
We  may  have  the  machinery  of  the  bodily 
and  mental  capacity,  but  there  will  be  no 
true  obedience  without  love.  "  Faith  with- 
out works  is  dead."  But  "  faith  worketh  by 
love."  "  Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law." 
Mere  convictions  of  our  duty  will  not  impel 
us  to  practise  it.  The  motive  power  of  the 
soul  in  well-doing  is  gratitude  to  Christ. 
Love  sets  all  its  faculties  in  motion  to  serve 

(40) 


QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  41 

God.  But  love  is  one  of  the  fruits  of  the 
Spirit.  Without  this,  however  correct  our 
creed,  we  do  no  work  for  God.  If  then  we 
would  not  stand  still  as  useless  machinery  ; 
if  our  outward  profession  of  religion  is  not  to 
be  like  mere  polish  or  gilding  on  an  unser- 
viceable engine,  a  pretence  and  a  mockery  ; 
if  we  would  not  be  condemned  hereafter  as 
unprofitable  servants,  let  us  take  heed  that 
we  "  Quench  not  the  Spirit." 
Jas.  ii.  20  ;  Gal.  v.  6. ;  Phil.  ii.  13. 

4* 


XII. 

AS  FIRE,  THE  SPIRIT  CHEERS. 

Fire  produces  warmth  and  cheerfulness. 
Some  light  has  no  warmth,  like  that  of  the 
moon,  which  even  causes  the  cold  to  appear 
still  more  intense  to  the  shivering  outcast. 
So  there  may  be  some  knowledge  of  religion 
without  love.  But  the  light  of  the  Spirit  is 
always  accompanied  by  the  warmth  of  holy 
emotion.  The  disciples  whom  the  Saviour 
had  accompanied  on  their  journey  to  Em- 
maus,  said — "  Did  not  our  hearts  hum  within 
us  as  he  talked  with  us  by  the  way  ?"  And 
so  when  the  Spirit  whom  Jesus  promised  as 
"  Another  Comforter"  dwells  within  us,  the 
heart  glows  with  faith,  and  love,  and  hope, 
and  joy.  Ours  can  be  a  happy  religion  only 
in  proportion  as  the  Spirit  of  God  burns 
within  the  soul.  A  plain  room  with  a  blaz- 
ing hearth  is  more  cheerful  during  severe 

(42) 


QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  43 

frost,  than  a  gilded  saloon  without  a  fire, 
where  you  sit  and  shudder  with  cold.  So 
the  fire  of  the  Holy  Ghost  gladdens  the  heart, 
and  makes  many  a  humble  Christian,  who 
has  little  theological  lore,  happier  than  those 
who,  with  much  knowledge,  do  not  seek  and 
cherish  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  in  tlieir 
soul.  There  can  be  none  of  the  ''  peace 
wliich  passeth  all  understanding,"  none  of 
''  the  joy  unspeakable,"  unless  this  sacred 
flame  is  burning  within  us. 


XIII. 

AS  FIEE,  THE  SPIRIT  MAINTAINS  LIFE  IN 
THE  SOTTL. 

Fire  promotes  life.  TVarmth  not  only 
produces  a  feeling  of  comfort,  but  it  is  abso- 
lutely essential  to  vitality.  The  warm  rays 
of  the  sun  in  spring  quicken  vegetation,  so 
that  seeds  long  buried  sprout  forth,  and  trees 
which  seemed  dead  become  gay  with  leaf  and 
blossom.  Animals  which  lay  torpid  during 
the  long  winter,  are  born  into  a  new  exist- 
ence. The  heat  of  a  fire  often  preserves 
those  who  otherwise  would  be  frozen  to  death, 
and  restores  to  life  those  who  seemed  to  have 
already  perished.  In  the  human  body  there 
is  a  constant  process  of  combustion,  produc- 
ing animal  heat,  and  if  this  fire  is  not  kept 
alive  by  breathing,  we  die.  So  the  Holy 
Spirit  may  be  compared  to  fire,  as  being  the 
author  and  preserver  of  spiritual  life.     The 


QUENCH   XOT   THE   SPIRIT.  45 

effects  of  liis  operation  already  described, 
constitute  this  life.  Unless  we  are  enlight- 
ened, moulded  to  the  will  of  God,  purified 
from  sin,  impelled  to  obedience,  and  made 
happy  in  Christ,  we  are  dead  while  we  seem 
to  live.  But  those  who  were  "  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins,"  are  "  quickened"  or  made 
alive  by  the  Spirit.  "  The  Spirit  of  life  in 
Christ  Jesus  makes  us  free  from  the  law  of 
sin  and  death."  Mere  head  knowledge 
leaves  us  cold  and  dead,  like  statues  in  moon- 
shine. But  the  Spirit  of  God,  like  lire  in 
the  soul,  kindles  the  living  impulses  of  faith, 
love,  obedience,  patience,  hope,  joyfulness. 
If  this  fire  were  to  be  quenched,  we  should 
become,  in  a  spiritual  sense,  cold  corpses  ! 

Imagine  tlie  case  of  a  family  overtaken  by 
winter  in  some  dreary  Arctic  region.  The 
snow  falls  thick.  The  cold  is  intense.  The 
nights  are  long  and  dark.  But  a  bright  fire 
blazes  in  the  hut  diffusing]:  liQ:ht  and  warmth. 
Without  it.  how  desolate  would  be  tlieir  con- 
dition !     Nay,  existence  itself  would  be  im- 


46  QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

possible.  They  would  be  frozen  to  deatli. 
Suppose  they  have  no  means  of  kindling 
another  fire  should  it  go  out.  How  careful 
would  they  be  not  to  quench  it !  For  if,  by 
its  help,  they  can  survive  a  few  weeks  longer, 
warmer  weather  will  return,  and  with  it, 
safety  and  home.  But  if  it  goes  out,  they 
perish  !  And  shall  not  we  be  anxious  to  keep 
alive  the  holy  fire  of  the  Spirit  in  our  hearts? 
What  a  long,  endless  night  of  coldest,  dark- 
est winter  will  be  ours,  should  it  be  extin- 
guished !  But  if  it  burn  within  us,  we  shall 
be  preserved  alive  amid  the  chilling  influences 
of  a  sinful  world,  until  the  eternal  sunshine 
of  heaven  bursts  upon  us.  Reader,  if  you 
would  "  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life," 
— Quench  not  the  Spirit. 

Rom.  viii.  2,  6,  10  ;  Eph.  ii.  1. 


XIY. 

POSSIBILITY  OF  QUENCHING  THE  SPIRIT. 

The  warning  "  Quench  not  the  Spirit,"  is 
a  proof  that  the  Spirit  may  be  quenched. 
What  is  forbidden  must  be  possible,  or  the 
admonition  would  be  useless  and  absurd. 
Matter  is  moved  by  a  superior  physical  force, 
without  any  will  of  its  own,  but  mind  is  in- 
fluenced to  action  by  motives  which  it  can  con- 
sciously resist.  A  lighter  weight  cannot  help 
being  drawn  up  by  a  heavier,  but  the  mind  can 
strive  against  persuasion.  The  Holy  Spirit 
works  within  us  by  exhibiting  truth,  suggest- 
ing motives,  prompting  desires.  He  never 
forces  us  against  our  will,  but  inclines  our 
will  to  choose  what  is  right.  When  we 
yield  to  the  Spirit's  persuasions  we  yield  free- 
ly ;  so  also  we  are  free  to  resist  them.  And 
we  can  do  this  by  refusing  to  attend  to  the 
truths  He  teaches  ;  by  searching  for  objec- 

(47) 


48  QUENCH   NOT   THE    SPIRIT. 

tions  to  the  reasons  He  suggests  ;  by  encour- 
aging desires  contrary  to  those  He  produces. 
St.  Paul  says,  "  the  flesh  lusteth  against  the 
Spirit,  and  the  Spirit  against  the  flesh,  and 
these  are  contrary  the  one  to  the  other." 
Every  Christian  is  conscious  of  the  existence 
within  him  of  the  rival  powers  of  good  and 
evil,  and  often  laments  that  he  encourages 
what  is  carnal  in  opposition  to  what  is  spir- 
itual. The  will,  that  highest  faculty  of  the 
soul,  may  favor  one  or  other  of  these  rivals, 
so  that  we  may,  by  yielding  to  Satan,  become 
altogether  the  slaves  of  sin,  or  by  yielding 
to  the  Holy  Spirit  we  may  become  the  free 
and  happy  servants  of  God.  This  little 
tract  is  not  the  place  for  metaphysical  argu- 
ment. But  it  appeals  to  the  conscience  of 
the  reader.  Have  you  not  often  felt  prompt- 
ed to  repent,  to  pray,  and  lead  a  better  life, 
but  have  you  not  banished  those  good 
thoughts,  and  resisted  tliose  holy  inclina- 
tions ?  Has  is  not  seemed  as  if  you  held  a 
balance,  one  scale  of  which  was  heavy  with 


QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  49 

reasons  why  you  sliould  do  righteously,  but 
you  diligently  thought  of  all  the  inducements 
to  do  wickedly,  and  placed  them  in  tlie  op- 
posite scale,  until  the  balance  turned  and  sin 
gained  the  day  ?  Have  you  not  sometimes 
felt  as  if  tlie  hand  of  some  kind  and  holy 
friend  were  holding  you  back  from  some  sin- 
ful action,  but  you  thrust  that  hand  aside  and 
rushed  onward  to  gratify  your  evil  desires? 
Did  those  good  thoughts  come  only  from 
your  bad  heart?  The  heart  is  "  deceitful 
above  all  things  and  desperately  wicked." 
Too  wicked  to  produce  such  lioly  desires. 
Was  not  sometliing  better  tlian  yourself 
striving  witliin  you  ?  Was  not  the  flame  of 
divine  influence  kindled,  and  were  you  not 
quenching  it  ?  But  let  us  hear  what  the  Bi- 
ble says. 


xv. 

"MY  SPIRIT  SHALL  NOT  ALWAYS  STRIVE 
WITH  MAN. 

Soox  after  the  fall,  mankind  became  so 
"wicked,  that  God  resolved  to  destroy  them 
by  a  flood.  But  He  was  long-suffering  ;  He 
warned  them  of  their  danger  ;  He  invited 
them  to  repent.  But  they  refused  to  obey. 
Then  God  said — "  My  Spirit  shall  not  always 
strive  with  man."  Gen.  vi.  o.  The  Spirit 
of  God  was,  therefore,  at  that  time,  striving 
with  sinners  for  their  good.  But  they  strove 
against  Him,  to  their  own  destruction.  They 
rejected  not  merely  Noah,  but  God  ;  not 
merely  the  man  who  spoke,  but  the  Spirit 
who  strove.  Durins;  one  hundred  and  twen- 
ty  years  they  resisted  his  kind  persuasions. 
Then  the  flood  swept  them  away.  Beware 
how  you  resist  the  Holy  Ghost.  God's  Spir- 
it "  will  not  always  strive  with  you."     "  The 

(50) 


QUENCH    NOT   THE    SPIRIT.  51 

Holy  Gliost  saith — To-day,  if  ye  will  hear 
his  voice,  liarden  not  your  heart.''  The 
Holy  Ghost  does  speak  to  sinners.  Sinners 
can,  and  do  harden  tlieir  hearts.  But  the 
opportunity  of  yielding  to  his  love  will  not 
last  forever.  The  season  of  salvation  is  "  to- 
day." Night  hastens  on.  Christ  wept  over 
Jerusalem  because  its  people  did  not  know 
•  at  least  in  that  their  day,"  the  things  of 
their  peace.  Your  day  may  end  while  you 
are  trifling.  The  flood  of  God's  wrath  may 
sweep  yoit  away  ;  for  his  "  Spirit  will  not 
ahvays  strive  !"     Heb.  iii.  7-19. 


XVI. 

GOD'S  "GOOD  SPIRIT"  "SEBELLED  AGAINST,"  AND 

"SINNERS  GIVEN  UP  TO  THEIR  OWN 

HEARTS'  LUSTS," 

Turn  to  the  ninth  chapter  of  Nehemiah 
and  see  how  God  strove  with  the  Jews,  how 
they  did  actually  quench  the  Spirit,  and  were 
left  to  perish.  "  Thou  earnest  down  upon 
mount  Sinai,  and  spakest  with  them  from 
heaven,  and  gavest  them  right  judgments  and 
true  laws,  good  statutes  and  commandments  : 
and  gavest  them  bread  from  heaven  and  wa- 
ter out  of  the  rock.  Thou  gavest  also  thy 
good  Sjpirit  to  instruct  tliem.  Nevertheless, 
they  were  disobedient,  and  rebelled  against 
thee,  and  cast  thy  law  behind  their  backs. 
They  dealt  proudly,  and  withdrew  the  shoul- 
der, and  hardened  their  necks,  and  hearkened 
not  to  thy  commandments,  and  refused  to 
obey.     Therefore  thou  deliveredst  them  into 

(52) 


QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  53 

the  hand  of  their  enemies."  Read  carefully 
the  whole  chapter.  Your  own  case  is  de- 
scribed. Has  not  God  given  you  his  "  good 
Spirit  to  instruct  you  T  Have  not  you 
"  hardened  your  neck," and  refused  to  "hear," 
and  '•  cast  his  laws  behind  your  back  ?"  And 
has  not  the  consequence  been,  that  God  has 
left  you,  in  great  measure,  to  those  worst  en- 
emies, your  sins  ?  Do  you  not  feel  that  you 
are  more  than  ever  in  their  power,  carried 
away  captive,  a  wretched  slave  of  the  devil  ? 
Yet  for  his  "  great  mercy's  sake,  God  does 
not  utterly  forsake  you."  Repent  at  once 
of  that  great  sin,  and  pray — "  Take  not  thy 
Holy  Spirit  from  me!"  Psalm  li.  11.  Da- 
vid would  not  have  uttered  this  request  if 
he  had  not  felt  it  was  possible  that  the 
Spirit  might  leave  liim,  as  He  had  left  his 
predecessor.  We  are  told  (1  Sara.  xvi.  14) 
that  "  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  departed  from 
Saul,  and  an  evil  spirit  from  the  Lord  troubled 
him."  He  would  not  obey  God's  good  Spir- 
it, so  God  permitted  an  evil  spirit  to  cleave 
5* 


64  QUENCH    NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

to  him,  as  a  just  punishment.  David  had 
seen  the  awful  doom  of  Saul  when  he  had 
quenched  the  Spirit,  and  in  terror  lest  his 
own  sins  might  thus  be  visited,  he  earnestly 
prayed — "  take  not  thy  Holy  Spirit  from 
me."  Sin  persisted  in,  drives  away  the  Ho- 
ly Ghost.  And  there  cannot  be  a  greater 
punishment  than  for  a  sinner  to  be  left  to 
himself.  "  My  people  would  not  hearken  to 
my  voice,  so  I  gave  them  up  unto  their  own 
hearts'  lusts,  and  they  walked  in  their  own 
counsels!"  Psalm  Ixxxi.  11,  12.  When  a 
sinner  is  suffered  to  have  his  own  way,  he 
must  perish,  for  sin  is  death.  What  can  be 
more  terrible  than  for  God  to  say  concerning 
any  one,  "  he  that  is  unjust,  let  him  be  unjust 
still  ;  and  he  that  is  filthy,  let  him  be  filthy 
still."  0  reader,  if  thou  wouldst  not  be  giv- 
en up  to  be  eternally  tormented  by  thy  sins 
— "  Quench  not  the  Spirit." 


XYII. 

THE  "HOLY  SPIRIT  VEXED,"  AND    GOD  " TURNED 
TO  BE  AN  ENEMY." 

Reader,  your  best  friend,  the  kind  and 
holy  Comforter,  may  be  turned  into  an  ene- 
my by  continued  rejection  of  his  love. 
Isaiah  says — (Ixiii.  8,  9,  10)  "  He  was  their 
Saviour  ;  in  all  their  affliction  He  was  afflict- 
ed, and  the  angel  of  his  presence  saved 
them  :  in  his  love  and  in  his  pity  He  re- 
deemed them.  But  they  rebelled,  and  vexed 
his  Holy  Spirit ;  therefore  He  was  turned  to 
he  their  enemij,  and  He  fought  against  them  V 
(See  also  xi,  ch.  Jer.)  Just  so,  we  may  con- 
tinue to  "  vex"  the  Spirit,  until  we  turn  our 
friend  into  a  foe.  Stephen  the  martyr,  ad- 
dressing the  Jewish  rulers,  said,  "  Ye  stiff- 
necked  and  uncircumcised  in  heart  and  ears, 
ye  do  always  resist  the  Holy  Ghost ;  as  your 
fathers  did,  so  do  ye."     Acts  vii.  51.  0  sin- 

(55) 


56  QUENCH   NOT  THE   SPIRIT. 

ner !  beware  how  you  resist  the  Holy  Ghost! 
Beware  lest  God,  who  is  now  helping  you, 
should  be  provoked  to  fight  against  you ! 
Beware  lest,  like  the  wicked  scribes  and 
elders  who  stoned  Stephen,  when  he  charged 
them  with  murdering  Christ,  0  beware  lest 
you  stone,  and  crucify  Christ  afresh,  by  driv- 
ing from  your  mind  the  message  of  the  Gospel, 
and  by  quenching  the  new  life  of  tlie  Spirit 
in  your  soul !  Beware  lest,  like  those 
wretched  Jews,  you  harden  yourself  in  sin, 
till  you  perish  without  hope  ! 


XYIII. 

"PAETAKEES  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST"  WHO 
"FALL  AWAY." 

None  fall  from  grace  and  perish,  who  in 
the  fullest  sense,  so  partake  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  as  to  be  in  very  deed,  God's  children. 
But  no  individual  can  be  sure  that  he  is  one 
of  these,  except  by  his  actual  perseverance 
in  lioliness.  Even  the  Apostle  kept  his  body 
in  subjection,  "  lest  after  preaching  to  others, 
he  himself  should  become  a  cast-away."  No 
Christian,  however  strong  his  confidence, 
should  feel  the  exhortation  needless — ''  Let 
us  therefore  fear,  lest  a  promise  being  left  us 
of  entering  into  rest,  any  of  you  should 
seem  to  come  short  of  it. "  But  there  are  many 
who  do  actually  perish,  after  experiencing 
some  kind  and  degree  of  spiritual  communi- 
cation. You  may  have  had  many  "  convic- 
tions"— much    knowledge,  feeling,  even    en- 

(57) 


68  QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

joyment  in  religion,  but  if  you  now  quencli 
the  Spirit,  your  case  may  illustrate  the  mean- 
ing of  the  solemn  words — '*  It  is  impossible  for 
those  who  were  once  enliglitened,  and  have 
tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift,  and  were  made 
partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  if  they  shall  fall 
away,  to  renew  them  again  unto  repentance." 
Heb.  vi.  -i-G.  Surely  so  solemn  a  warning 
would  not  have  been  given,  if  the  case  sup- 
posed could  never  occur.  There  is  therefore 
a  measure  of  spiritual "  enlightenment"  which 
may  be  lost ;  a  tasting  of  "  the  heavenly  gift" 
which  may  cease ;  a  *'  partaking"  in  the 
benefits  of  *■  the  Holy  Ghost,"  from  which 
we  may  "  fall  away.''  Speaking  after  the 
manner  of  men.  it  is  ''  impossible  to  renew 
again  uuto  repentance,"  those  who  thus 
quench  the  Spirit.  Of  course  God  can  do 
all  things.  When  Jesus  was  speaking  of  the 
difficulty  of  salvation  in  the  case  of  those 
who  trust  in  riches,  He  added — "  but  the 
things  which  are  impossible  with  men,  are 
possible  with  God."     By  a  moral  miracle 


QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  59 

He  may  save  even  tlie  most  liardened  repro- 
bates ;  but  by  ordinary  influences,  tliey  who 
thus  quench  tlie  Spirit,  cannot  be  "  renewed 
again  to  repentance."  They  know  all  that 
can  be  told  them.  They  have  felt  the  power 
of  the  warnings  and  invitations  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  yet  have  afterwards  treated  them 
with  contempt.  What  more  can  be  done  ? 
The  Spirit  has  revealed  to  them  the  things 
of  Christ,  yet  they  have  "  crucified  the  Son 
of  God  afresh."  Their  salvation  is  now  far 
more  difhcult  than  at  first.  "For  if,  after 
they  have  escaped  the  pollutions  of  the 
world,  through  the  knowledge  of  Christ, 
they  are  again  entangled  therein,  and  over- 
come, the  latter  end  is  worse  with  them  than 
the  beginning.  For  it  had  been  better  for 
them  not  to  have  known  the  way  of  right- 
eousness, than,  after  they  had  known  it,  to 
turn  from  the  holy  commandments  delivered 
unto  them."  2  Peter  ii.  20,  21.  Terrible 
must  be  their  final  doom  !  For  if  "  He  that 
despised  Moses'  law,  died  without  mercy  ;  of 


60  QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

how  much  sorer  punishment,  suppose  ye, 
shall  he  be  thought  worthy,  who  hath  done 
despite  unto  the  Spirit  of  Grace  V  Heb.  x.  28, 
29. 

Seriously  ponder  these  statements  of  the 
Bible.  Do  not  trifle  with  the  warning,  as 
if  the  danger  were  unreal.  Do  not  say — "  I 
cannot  produce  this  flame,  and  if  God  kin- 
dles it,  I  cannot  quench  it."  No,  you  cannot 
kindle  it.  But  God  can.  God  does.  He 
already  gives  you  some  portion  of  his  Holy 
Spirit.  "  Whereas  in  the  Jewish  church,  the 
Holy  Ghost  did  generally  diffuse  his  influ- 
ences, and  not  otherwise  withhold  tliem  than 
penally,  and  under  great  provocation  ;  how 
much  more  may  it  be  concluded,  that  under 
the  Gospel,  the  same  blessed  Spirit  is  very 
generally  at  work  upon  the  souls  of  men,  till 
by  their  resisting,  grieving,  and  quenching 
of  Him,  they  provoke  Him  to  retire  and 
withdraw  from  them."  (Howe.)  You  must 
not  charge  your  impenitence  on  God.  The 
fault  is  your  own.     "  What  could  have  been 


QUENCH    NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  .61 

done  more  to  my  vineyard,  that  I  liave  not 
done  in  it?  Wherefore,  when  I  looked  tliat 
it  should  bring  forth  grapes,  brought  it  forth 
wild  grapes  ?"  Isa.  v.  1-7.  Yes,  sinner, 
God  strives  within  you,  but  you  resist.  He 
lights  the  lire,  but  you  put  it  out.  You 
quench  the  Spirit  I 


XIX. 

AS  FIKE  BY  WATER,   THE  SPIRIT  MAY  BE 
QTTENCHED  BY  SIN. 

The  most  obvious  and  certain  way  to  put 
a  fire  out,  is  to  pour  water  on  it.  So,  the 
most  evident  method  of  quenching  the  Spirit, 
is  the  commission  of  sin,  and  conscious  re- 
sistance to  holy  influences.  Every  sinful 
action,  word,  purpose  ;  every  evil  thought 
encouraged,  is  as  water  poured  on  fire,  for 
these  are  not  so  contrary  to  each  other,  as  is 
sin  to  the  nature  of  Him  who  is  emphati- 
cally designated  the  "  HOLY  SPIRIT."'  In 
the  midst  of  warnings  against  specified  sins, 
the  Apostle  Paul  exhorts  the  Ephesians  not 
to  grieve  the  Spirit,  plainly  showing  that 
such  sins  do  grieve  Him.  ''  Putting  away 
lying,  speak  every  man  truth  with  his  neigh- 
bor.    Let  not  the  sun  go  down  upon  your 

(62) 


QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  63 

wrath.     Let  him  that  stole  steal  no  more. 
Let  no  corrupt  communication  proceed  out 
of   your    mouth.      And  grieve   not   the   holy 
Spirit  of  God,  whereby  ye  are  sealed  unto 
the  day  of  redemption.     Let  all  bitterness, 
and  wrath,  and  auger,  and  clamor,  and  evil- 
speaking,  be  put  away  from  you,  with  all 
malice,"  (tc,  Eph.  iv.   25-32.     Sins  against 
truth,  honesty,  purity,  gentleness,  and   love, 
are  thus  represented  as  "  grieving  the  Spirit.'' 
Even   Christians  who  are  "  sealed  unto  the 
day  of   redemption,"  may  thus  "  grieve  the 
Spirit."     He  may  act  as  a  friend  who,  hav- 
ing been  wantonly  slighted,  withdraws  him- 
self in  grief  and  displeasure.     We  are  ex- 
horted to  "  abstain  from  fleshly  lusts  which 
war   against   the  soul."     They   wound   the 
Spirit.     Does  not  every  Christian  feel   that 
sin  cliills  his  religious   affections,  cools  his 
love,  damps  his  zeal,  and  darkens  his  hope  ? 
Does  it  not  obscure  our  spiritual  vision  when 
we  would  gaze  upon  the  trutli  or  glory  of 
God,  and  does  it  not  weiffh  down  our  winffs 


64  QUENCH    NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

when  we  would  soar  upwards  in  prayer  and 
praise  ?  Has  not  the  indulgence  of  sin  often 
led  us  to  feel  that  tlie  Spirit  has  in  some 
measure  withdrawn  from  us,  as  if  grieved  ? 
And  if  this  is  so  with  Christians,  when  they 
occasionally  fall  into  temptation,  even  though 
the  holy  fire  burns  within  them,  much  more 
must  the  liahit  of  wickedness  be  likely  to 
quench  tliose  feeble  sparks  which  the  Spirit 
kindles  in  the  hearts  of  tlie  unconverted. 
Beware  then  what  you  do,  when  you  indulge 
in  any  sin.  You  feel  pleased  that  you  have 
gained  your  wish.  You  have  done  more. 
You  have  added  a  fresh  count  to  the  dread- 
ful indictment  which  will  seal  your  doom  at 
the  judgment  day,  unless  you  repent !  You 
have  done  even  more  than  this  !  You  have 
been  quenching  the  fire  which  alone  can 
melt  you  to  repentance,  and  light  up  for  you 
the  way  of  escape  from  that  impending 
ruin  ! 


XX. 

AS  FIRE  BY  WATER,  THE  SPIRIT  MAY  BE 
QUENCHED  BY  RESISTANCE. 

You  have  been  kept  for  a  time  from  some 
sin,  by  a  sense  of  its  folly,  wickedness,  and 
danger.  You  felt  it  was  an  awful  thing  thus 
to  rebel  against  God.  You  seemed  to  hear 
his  voice  warning  you  to  desist.  But  you 
sought  excuses,  persuading  yourself  tliat  the 
guilt  was  less  than  it  seemed,  or  that  the 
pleasure  was  worth  the  risk.  The  Spirit 
slione  upon  the  narrow  path  of  holiness. 
When  about  to  wander  to  the  right  hand  or 
to  the  left,  He  said — "  This  is  the  way,  walk 
ye  in  it."  But  you  persisted  in  taking  your 
own  course.  In  so  doing  you  deliberately 
thrust  away  the  friend  who  sought  to  restrain 
you  from  doing  yourself  injury.  By  tliis  di- 
rect opposition,  you  were  quenching  the  Spir- 
it. But  He  has  not  forsaken  you,  for  He  is 
6*  (65) 


66  QUENCH    NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

slow  to  anger,  and  plenteous  in  mercy.  He 
still  strives  within  you,  and  urges  you  to  re- 
pent. Guilt  weighs  heavily  on  your  con- 
science. You  feel  you  ought  at  once  to  con- 
fess and  forsake  your  iniquities  :  to  turn  to 
God,  to  trust  in  Christ,  and  lead  a  better 
life.  But  these  thoughts  make  you  unhappy, 
and  therefore  you  dislike  them.  You  are 
angry  Avith  the  truth,  and,  perliaps,  angry  al- 
so with  the  person  or  the  book  whereby  the 
truth  was  presented  to  your  mind.  Perhaps 
you  try  to  satisfy  your  convictions,  and  yet 
get  rid  of  an  unpleasant  subject,  by  resolv- 
ing that  you  will  attend  to  religion  at  some 
future  period.  You  say — "  Go  thy  way  for 
this  time,  when  I  have  a  convenient  season  I 
will  send  for  thee."  Or  by  a  deliberate  ef- 
fort, you  drive  the  subject  from  your  mind 
altogether.  You  listen  to  sceptical  objec- 
tions to  Christianity.  You  try  to  find  out 
contradictions  in  Scripture,  and  pervert  diffi- 
cult texts  into  pleas  for  continuing  in  sin. 
"  Things  hard  to  be  understood,  you  wrest  to 


QUENCH    NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  67 

your  own  destruction."  You  allow  yourself 
to  dwell  on  tlie  inconsistent  conduct  of  mere 
pretenders  to  piety,  as  if  tlieir  sin  excused 
yours.  For  the  very  purpose  of  extinguish- 
ing the  flickering  light  within,  you  perhaps 
plunge  into  vain  amusements,  frivolous  socie- 
ty, foolish  books,  or  fresh  sins.  You  take 
pains  to  put  out  the  holy  lire  God  has  been 
kindling.  Still  it  burns.  You  fetch  more 
water.  The  flames  of  conviction  neverthe- 
less burst  out  now  and  then,  in  spite  of  all 
your  efforts  to  quench  tliem.  Still  you  per- 
severe. You  act  as  if  resolved  that  no 
warmth  should  thaw  the  icy  winter  of  your 
heart,  that  not  a  spark  should  relieve  its  mid- 
night gloom.  Are  you  in  love  with  dark- 
ness? Are  you  resolved  to  perisli  ?  If  not, 
listen  to  the  warning  —  "Quench  not  the 
Spirit." 

Isa.  XXX.  21  ;   Acts  xxiv.  25  ;  2  Peter  iii. 
16,  17. 


XXI. 

AS  FIRE  SMOTHERED  BY  RUBBISH,  THE  SPIRIT 
MAY  BE  QUENCHED  BY  WORLDLINESS. 

Without  any  distinct  intention  to  extin- 
guish a  fire,  one  thing  after  another  may  be 
heaped  upon  it,  until  it  goes  out.  So  the 
Spirit  may  be  quenched,  not  only  by  direct 
opposition,  but  by  worldliness  of  mind.  The 
thoughts  may  be  so  absorbed  by  things  seen 
and  temporal,  as  to  leave  no  time  nor  inclina- 
tion to  attend  to  the  things  which  are  unseen 
and  eternal.  In  the  parable  of  the  sower, 
"  the  cares  of  this  life,  and  the  deceitfulness  of 
riches,  and  the  lusts  of  other  things/'  are 
represented  as  the  thorns  which  "  choke  the 
word,  and  it  becometh  unfruitful."  Witli 
equal  propriety,  these  cares  and  lusts  may  be 
said  to  quench  the  Spirit.  At  the  present 
day,  when  the  rush  of  tlie  railway  is  a  fitting 

(68) 


QUENCH   NOT  THE   SPIRIT.  69 

emblem  of  the  eager  haste  with  which  men 
are  competing  in  business,  how  great  is  the 
danger  of  smothering  tlie  fire  of  the  Spirit, 
by  the  heaping  up  of  wordly  cares  !  Reader, 
are  you  setting  your  affections  on  things  be- 
low ?  Not  satisfied  with  moderate  comforts, 
and  moderate  success,  but  eager  to  surpass 
your  neighbors,  and  in  haste  to  become  rich? 
are  you  accumulating  needless  cares  in  ac- 
cumulating needless  wealth  ?  Are  you  allow- 
ing your  heart  to  be  distracted  with  anxie- 
ties, which  are  only  made  necessary  by  your 
foolish  discontent  or  ambition  ?  "  They  that 
will  be  rich,  fall  into  temptation  and  a  snare, 
and  into  many  foolish  and  hurtful  lusts, 
which  drown  men  in  destruction  and  perdi- 
tion. For  the  love  of  money  is  the  root  of 
all  evil  ;  wliicli  while  some  coveted  after, 
they  have  erred  from  the  faith,  and  pierced 
themselves  through  with  many  sorrows." 
Doubtless  the  Apostle  considered  that  De- 
mas,  wliile  liis  companion  in  suffering  for  the 
Gospel,  was  under  tlie  influence  of  the  Holy 


70  QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

Spirit.  Yet  he  writes,  "  Demas  liatli  for- 
sakeu  me,  liaving  loved  this  present  world." 
Thus  he  quenched  the  Spirit.  Are  you  thus 
forsaking  that  Saviour  wliom  once  you 
seemed  to  love,  and  in  whose  company  and 
service  you  took  delight?  Are  you  thus 
quenching  the  Spirit  ? 

Perhaps  you  are  allured  by  the  syren  voice 
of  pleasure.  Gay  company,  fashionable  en- 
tertainments, brilliant  spectacles,  exciting 
sports,  absorb  your  thoughts.  You  are  eager 
after  some  fresh  amusement.  Or  some  favor- 
ite study  has  become  an  absorbing  passion. 
Or  novel-reading  keeps  your  mind  in  a  con- 
stant state  of  intoxication,  ever  craving  some 
new  stimulant.  Pursuits  useful  and  lovely 
in  their  due  place,  may,  by  intemperate  in- 
dulgence, have  become  deadly  foes.  Far  be 
it  from  us  to  condemn  a  proper  attention  to 
the  business  of  this  life,  or  a  thankful  enjoy- 
ment of  its  comforts.  Toil  and  recreation, 
of  body  and  mind,  are  holy  in  the  light  of 
divine  love.     But  they  become  rebels  when 


QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  71 

tliey  usurp  the  throne  of  our  affections,  and 
tempt  us  to  forget  God.  Above  all  other 
subjects,  religion  needs  habitual  and  serious 
consideration.  The  thoughts  must  dwell  on 
it,  the  heart  must  be  pervaded  by  it.  How- 
true  therefore  it  is,  that  "  If  any  man  love 
the  \v'orld,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in 
him  !''  A  holy  desire  rising  up  in  the  soul, 
like  a  faithful  but  gentle  friend  meeting  us 
as  we  rush  heedlessly  along  some  dangerous 
road,  and  warning  us  of  the  peril,  may  soon 
be  borne  down  and  trodden  under  foot  by 
tlie  rude  crowd  of  cares  and  pleasures  which 
we  choose  for  our  companions,  and  whose 
noisy  clamors  drown  the  expostulations  of 
the  still  small  voice  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

Does  not  the  conscience  of  many  a  reader 
testify  to  the  fact,  that  worldliness  of  mind 
quenches  the  Spirit  ?  Has  not  the  fire  which 
perhaps  once  burned  brightly,  been  dying 
down  beneath  the  rubbish  you  have  heaped 
on  it  ?  You  read  your  Bible,  go  to  church, 
hear  sermons,  say  your  prayers,  but  your  heart 


72  QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

is  elsewhere.  Is  it  not  to  be  feared  that  many 
professors  of  religion  are  in  this  condition  ? 
Is  not  the  sacred  flame  burnin^:  more  and 
more  faintly,  and  in  danger  of  dying  out  al- 
together ?  If  worldliness  may  thus  quench 
the  bright  fire  in  those  Avho  seemed  to  be 
Christians,  how  much  more  will  it  smother 
the  faint  sparks  in  the  unconverted  !  How 
can  you  expect,  reader,  ever  to  be  saved,  so 
long  as  you  give  your  chief  thoughts  to 
worldly  things  ?  Is  it  possible  for  you  to 
become  a  Christian,  unless  you  make  salva- 
tion your  cliief  business?  Is  there  anything 
else  so  well  worth  being  earnest  about  ? 
Should  you  not  be  willing  to  put  aside  every- 
thing which  hinders  your  attaining  it? 
Whatever  may  be  pleaded  in  favor  of  this 
or  that  pursuit,  if  you  are  conscious  tliat,  in 
your  case,  it  acts  like  rubbish  stifling  a  fire, 
should  you  not  at  once  abandon  it  ?  Ought 
you  not  to  remove  from  the  holy  flame  with- 
in you,  whatever  is  quenching  it  ?  Will  you 
really  be  any  richer,  or  nobler,  or  wiser,  or 


QUENCH   XOT   THE   SPIRIT.  73 

happier,  if,  while  amassing  wealth,  rising  in 
station,  increasing  in  knowledge,  absorbed 
in  pleasure,  you  are  quenching  the  Spirit  ? 
Would  you  praise  the  miner  who  had  lost 
his  way  in  the  dark  labyrinth,  if  he  were  to 
put  out  his  only  light  and  lose  his  life,  in  his 
eagerness  to  pick  up  the  precious  ore  at  his 
feet  ?  And  can  you  think  tliat  any  worldly 
object  will  repay  your  pursuit,  if  you  quench 
the  Spirit  ?  "  What  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if 
he  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  his  own 
soul !" 

Matt.  xiii.  22;  1  Tim.  vi.  9,  10  ;  1  John 
ii.  15. 


XXII. 

AS  FIEE  BY  NOT  BEING  STIKRED,  THE  SPIRIT  MAY 
BE  QUENCHED  BY  NEGLECT. 

A  FIRE  may  be  put  out,  not  only  by  being 
quenched  with  water,  or  smothered  with  rub- 
bish, but  by  being  simply  left  alone.  So  we 
may  quench  the  Spirit  by  merely  neglecting 
his  Q^racious  influences.  The  exhortation — 
"  Quench  not  the  Spirit,"  in  the  Epistle  to 
the  Thessalonians,  immediately  precedes  the 
command — "  Despise  not  prophesyings."  The 
early  church  might  quench  the  Spirit,  by  dis- 
couraging, by  not  cultivating,  the  special  mi- 
raculous energies  thus  communicated.  And 
so  we  quench  the  Spirit,  when  we  do  not  act 
upon  the  holy  impulses  He  produces.  When 
good  desires  are  not  followed  up,  when  the 
promptings  to  self-denial  and  holy  zeal  are 
not  at  once  obeyed,  we  in  a  measure  quench 
the  Spirit. 
(74) 


QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  75 

St.  Paul  thus  exhorts  Timothy,  "  Stir  up 
the  gift  of  God  which  is  in  thee."  It  is  a  gift. 
We  can  never,  by  our  own  efforts,  produce 
this  influence  ;  we  can  never,  by  our  own 
merits,  purchase  it  from  God.  It  is  his  free, 
unmerited,  sovereign  mercy  which  bestows 
it.  But  we  must  "  stir  it  up."  The  word 
literally  means  to  enliven  up  a  fire,  which 
burns  dimly  and  may  go  out  unless  stirred 
by  the  poker.  Even  one  so  eminently  en- 
dowed as  was  Timothy,  must  be  diligent  in 
stirring  up  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit !  He 
must  use  the  powers  entrusted  to  him  ;  he 
must  act  upon  the  impulses  produced  within 
him.  If  tliat  which  in  him  was  so  strong 
needed  diligent  culture — much  more  that 
which  in  us  is  so  weak.  How  we  ouglit  to 
nurture  tenderly  the  very  first  faint  desires 
after  God  !  These  holy  emotions,  like  new- 
born babes,  need  anxious,  fostering  care. 
They  should  at  once  be  taken  to  Jesus  that 
He  may  feed,  cherish,  and  mature  tliem.  But 
if  we  abandon  them,  like  foundling  children 


76  QUENCH    NOT   THE    SPTEIT. 

who  enter  the  world  unwelcome,  tliey   will 
die.     2  Tim.  i.  6,  14. 

The  work  of  the  Spirit  is  intended,  not  to 
supersede,  but  to  stimulate  our  own  exertions. 
We  counteract  his  efforts,  if  we  indolently 
leave  all  to  Him,  instead  of  being  encouraged 
by  his  assistance,  to  "  strive  to  enter  in  at  the 
strait  gate."  We  are  commanded  to  "  labor 
for  that  meat  which  endureth  unto  everlasting 
life" — to  ''  labor  to  enter  into  rest" — to  "  give 
diligence  to  make  our  calling  and  election 
sure" — to  "  work  out  our  own  salvation  with 
fear  and  trembling,  for  it  is  God  who  worketh 
in  us  both  to  will  and  to  do."  If  He  did 
not  work  in  us,  not  because  we  deserve  it, 
but  of  "  his  good  pleasure,"  it  would  be  use. 
less  for  us  to  work  ourselves,  even  if  we  wished 
to  do  so.  We  could  never  succeed.  But  He 
works,  in  order  that  we  may  work.  Just  as 
He  sends  the  sunshine  and  the  shower,  that 
the  farmer  by  tilling  the  ground,  may  secure 
the  harvest,  so  He  kindles  in  us  the  fire  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  tliat  we  may  profit  by  tlie  light 


QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  77 

and  life  thus  bestowed.  But  if  we  indolently 
do  nothing,  that  fire  will  not  profit  us,  and 
will  soon  die  out.  He  prompts  us  to  pray, 
to  resist  temptation,  to  take  up  the  cross  and 
follow  Jesus  ;  but  if  we  neglect  these  prompt- 
ings, if  we  are  satisfied  with  vague  desires 
without  arriving  at  a  fixed  determination 
("  to  will  ") — and  without  acting  on  such  a 
decision  ("  to  do  ") — then  we  may  expect  that 
the  Spirit  will  cease  to  "  work  within  us." 
Why  should  He  still  urge  us  to  that  which 
we  persist  in  neglecting  ?  The  fire  not  stirred, 
goes  out !  St.  Paul  says  (Gal.  v.  16),  "  Walk 
in  the  Spirit,  and  ye  shall  not  fulfil  the  deeds 
of  the  flesh."  Walking  implies  voluntary 
action — the  putting  forth  of  effort  by  him 
who  walks.  When  the  Holy  Spirit  enters 
the  heart,  He  prompts  to  activity,  not  as  a 
stone  is  rolled,  or  a  person  pushed,  by  exter- 
nal force,  but  by  a  new  life  imparted,  which 
impels  us  to  exertion.  It  is  not  the  Spirit 
who  believes  and  obeys  in  us,  but  it  is  we  who, 
by  the  Spirit,  are  to  abound  in  the  works  of 


78  QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

righteousness.  We  are  not  to  rest  inactive  in 
the  possession  of  the  heavenly  gift.  "  Walk 
in  the  Spirit."  Walking  involves  not  only 
voluntary  self  motion,  but  progress.  If  we 
do  not  thus  advance,  we  shall  "  fulfil  the  deeds 
of  the  flesh."  We  shall  go  backward — we 
shall  quench  the  Spirit.  "If  we  live  in  the 
Spirit,  let  us  also  lualk  in  the  Spirit.''  Let  us 
make  it  manifest  that  we  are  alive,  by  per- 
forming the  functions  of  life.  But  the  neglect 
of  life  destroys  life — not  stirring  up  the  Spirit, 
quenches  the  Spirit.  The  Ephesians  (v.  18) 
are  exhorted  to  "be  filled  witli  the  Spirit." 
It  is  evident  that  in  some  measure  it  depended 
on  themselves  whether  they  should  have  much 
or  little  of  spiritual  influence.  They  are  told 
not  to  be  satisfied  with  driving  from  their 
hearts  what  is  wicked,  but  to  have  their  hearts 
occupied  with  what  is  holy  and  divine.  Nor 
are  they  to  be  content  with  a  small  amount 
of  spiritual  influence,  but  to  be  filled  with 
it.  It  is  evidently  as  much  our  duty  to  pos- 
sess, in  large  measure,  the  Spirit  of  God,  as 


QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  79 

it  is  to  abstain  from  intemperance.  The  Holy 
Ghost,  speaking  by  St.  Paul,  commands  us  to 
obtain  liis  influences,  in  the  very  sentence 
which  enjoins  sobriety.  "Be  not  drunk  with 
wine  wherein  is  excess,  but  be  filled  with  ^e 
Spirit."  It  is  implied  that  being  ''filled  with 
the  Spirit"  is  as  much  dependent  on  our  own 
efforts,  as  avoiding  drunkenness.  If,  then, 
we  indolently  wait  for  the  Spirit  to  come  and 
fill  us,  instead  of  striving  to  he  filled — may  we 
not  lose  even  what  we  think  we  possess,  and 
thus  quench  the  Spirit  ? 

Most  evident  it  is  from  Scripture  and  ex- 
perience, that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  promoter 
of  divine  love  in  the  soul.  Xo  sinner  ever 
yet  loved  God  but  by  his  gracious  help.  And 
yet  the  Spirit  speaking  by  St.  Jude,  (21)  says 
— "  Keep  yourselves  in  the  love  of  God."  It 
is  as  true  that  we  are  to  "  keep  ourselves,"  as 
that  we  are  "  kept  by  the  power  of  God." 
The  precept  is  as  divine  as  the  promise.  If 
by  ''  praying  in  the  Holy  Ghost,"  we  ''  keep 
ourselves  in  the  love  of  God,"  religion  flour- 


80  QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

ishes  in  the  soul.  But  if,  neglecting  his  help, 
we  suffer  that  holy  flame  to  go  out,  what  proof 
remains  that  we  are  Christians  ?  "  How  shall 
we  escape  if  we  neglect  so  great  salvation  ?" 
Just  as  neglect  of  the  atonement  of  Christ 
renders  salvation  impossible,  so,  neglect  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  leaves  a  sinner  hopelessly  "  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins."  By  not  "  keeping 
ourselves  in  the  love  of  God,"  by  simple  neg- 
lect of  his  gracious  influences,  we  may  quench 
the  Spirit.     Heb.  ii.  3. 

Neglect  of  the  Bible,  and  neglect  of  prayer, 
are  cliief  methods  of  quenching  the  Spirit. 
They  will  form  subjects  of  special  illustration 
in  the  two  following  chapters. 


XXIII. 

AS  FIHE  BY  WANT  OF  FUEL,  THE  SPIRIT  MAY  BE 
QUENCHED  BY  NEGLECT  OF  THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 

If  the  furnace  is  not  fed  with  coal,  the  fire 
goes  out,  and  the  steam-engine  stands  still. 
Some  furnaces  have  a  self-feeding  apparatus, 
which  supplies  fuel  without  any  trouble  to  the 
engine-man.  But  the  fire  lighted  by  the  Spirit 
in  our  hearts  needs  constant  vigilance.  If 
we  do  not  feed  the  flame,  it  may  be  quenched 
the  work  be  left  unfinished,  and  '"  the  grace  of 
God  received  in  vain."    2  Cor.  vi.  1. 

The  Spirit  influences  the  mind  by  means 
of  the  Truth.  As  the  "  word  of  God  is  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit,"  so  also  is  it  the  fuel  of 
the  holy  fire  He  kindles.  "  Sanctify  them  by 
thy  truth — thy  word  is  truth."  The  truth 
sanctifies  by  contact  with  the  mind.  We  can- 
not, by  an  act  of  will  produce  any  emotion  ; 

(81) 


82  QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

but  we  can  direct  our  thoughts  to  what  is 
calculated  to  excite  it.  We  cannot,  by  a  direct 
effort,  make  the  fire  burn,  but  we  can  fix  our 
attention  on  those  truths  which  act  as  fuel 
to  the  flame.  And  therefore  if  we  would  not 
let  this  flame  be  quenched,  we  must  exert  our- 
selves to  meditate  upon  the  truth.  We  should 
hear  sermons,  not  to  gratify  taste  or  curiosity, 
but  to  nourish  the  inward  life  of  piety.  We 
should  make  the  Bible  our  daily  companion, 
and  "  search  the  Scriptures,"  with  self-exam- 
ination and  earnest  prayer.  We  should  habit- 
ually reflect  on  tlie  character  and  will  of  God, 
as  revealed  in  the  life  and  love  of  Jesus.  The 
sacrifice  of  the  cross,  the  gift  of  the  Spirit, 
the  judgment  to  come,  the  hell  to  be  shunned, 
and  the  heaven  to  be  secured,  should  be  fre- 
quently in  our  thoughts,  in  order  that  amidst 
the  things  "  seen  and  temporal,'^  we  may  be 
strengthened  by  the  "  things  unseen  and  eter- 
nal" to  come  to  Jesus,  and  follow  Him  in  en- 
during trials  and  resisting  sin.  We  should 
imitate  the  Psalmist  who  said — '"  0  how  love 


QUEXCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  83 

I  thy  law  ;  it  is  my  meditation  all  the  day. 
How  sweet  are  thy  words  unto  my  taste.  Thy 
testimonies  are  my  delight  and  my  counsellors. 
Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  feet,  and  a  light 
unto  my  path.  Tliy  word  have  I  hid  in  mine 
heart  that  I  might  not  sin  against  thee." 

How  is  it,  reader,  with  you  ?  Do  you  thus 
study  God's  word  ?  Do  you  set  it  before  you 
as  your  daily  rule  of  conduct  ?  Do  you 
habitually  turn  your  thoughts  towards  it,  in 
order  that  your  heart  and  life  may  be  influ- 
enced by  it  ?  If  not,  can  you  wonder  that 
the  fire  lighted  up  by  the  Spirit,  deprived  of 
its  appropriate  fuel,  burns  faintly  ?  AVould 
it  be  surprising,  if,  being  thus  quenched,  it 
should  go  out  for  ever  ? 

Ps.  xix.  7-11  ;  cxix;  2  Tim.  iii.  15-17. 


XXIY. 

AS  FIRE  BY  WANT  OF  AIE,  THE  SPIHIT  MAY  BE 
QUENCHED  BY  NEGLECTING  TO  PEAY. 

FiEE  is  soon  quenclied  when  the  air  is 
shut  out.  There  may  be  abundance  of  fuel, 
but  it  will  not  burn.  Not  less  essential  to 
the  flame  kindled  by  the  Spirit,  is  the  breath 
of  prayer.  God  alone  bestows  grace,  but 
we  must  ask.  "  I  will  yet  for  this  be  in- 
quired of  by  the  house  of  Israel.''  "  Ask 
and  ye  shall  receive."  If  we  have  not  it  is 
because  we  ask  not.  '  But  must  I  not  have 
the  Spirit  first,  in  order  to  pray  at  all  V 
Certainly — and  has  not  God  already  given 
you  enough  for  this  ?  If  you  improve  what 
you  have,  "  more  shall  be  given.''  But  if 
you  quench  the  Spirit,  "  even  that  which  you 
have  shall  be  taken  away."  St.  Jude  says — 
"  Ye,  beloved,  praying  in  the  Holy  Ghost, 
keep  yourselves  in  the  love  of  God."    The 

(84) 


QUENCH   NOT  THE   SPIRIT.  85 

Holy  Ghost  does  not  render  prayer  needless, 
but  practicable.  How  can  we  obey  the  com- 
mand— "  Be  filled  with  the  Spirit,"  if  we  do 
not  pray  to  Him  who  alone  can  fill  us?  "  Open 
thy  moutli  wide  and  I  will  fill  it."  The  pre- 
cept is  linked  with  the  promise.  "If  we  are 
not  spiritually  minded,  we  are  not  to  take 
the  opiate,  '  God  has  not  been  pleased  to  fill 
me,'  but  the  blame, '  Because  I  seek  it  not,  I 
find  it  not.'  "     (Rev.  J.  H.  Evans.) 

"  If  ye,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good 
gifts  unto  your  cliildren,  how  much  more 
shall  your  Heavenly  Father  give  liis  holy 
Spirit  to  them  that  ask  Him."  There  is 
warning  here,  as  well  as  encouragement. 
The  Spirit  is  promised  only  to  those  who  asli. 
Reader,  is  the  flame  of  your  piet}'  getting 
low?  Surely  you  have  been  less  fervent  in 
supplication  than  you  once  were.  Wliat  is 
to  be  done  ?  If  you  wanted  to  make  a  fire 
burn  up,  you  would  take  the  bellows,  and 
blow  into  it.  So  by  earnest  prayer,  stir  up 
the  divine  flame  !  The  Holy  Spirit  is  the 
8 


86  QUENCH    NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

special  gift  of  Christ.  "  If  any  man  thirst, 
let  him  come  unto  me,  and  from  Tvithin  him 
shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water.  This  spake 
He  of  the  Spirit,  which  they  that  believe  on 
Him  should  receive.''  Come  then  for  this  gift, 
to  the  loving  Saviour.  "  This  is  the  confidence 
that  we  have  in  Him,  that  if  we  ask  any- 
thing according  to  his  will.  He  heareth  us !" 
Since  He  himself  bids  us  ask  for  tlie  Spirit, 
we  may  urge  our  suit  with  certainty.  Reader, 
whoever  you  are,  pray  for  the  Spirit !  The 
promise  is  for  you  !  Do  you  feel  it  difiBcult 
to  become  religious  ?  He  will  assist  you  ! 
Already  some  faint  spark  is  kindled  within 
you — blow  upon  it  with  the  breath  of  prayer, 
and  the  spark  will  become  a  flame!  But  if 
you  neglect  prayer,  you  quench  the  Spirit. 
Luke  xi.  1-13  ;  xviii.  1-14  ;  1  Jno.  v.  14. 


XXY. 

READEE!  ABE  YOU  QUENCHING  THE  SPIRIT? 

Perhaps  you  say — "  I  cannot  quencli  a 
fire  which  has  never  been  kindled."  But  can 
you,  as  in  the  presence  of  God  declare,  that 
He  never  strove  with  you  to  bring  you  to  re- 
pentance ?  Perhaps,  in  early  life,  you  were 
blessed  witJi  pious  parents.  You  cannot  forget 
a  father's  counsels  and  a  mother's  prayers. 
But  as  you  grew  up,  you  listened  to  the  al- 
lurements of  worldliness  and  sin,  and  thus 
quenched  the  religious  impulses  of  child- 
hood. In  after  years,  you  have  often  been 
arrested  in  your  careless  career.  Affliction 
has  withered  up  the  flowers  whicli  adorned 
your  path,  and  foretold  the  coming  winter 
when  all  that  is  fair  must  fade.  Sickness 
seizing  your  friends,  or  laying  yourself  pros- 
trate, lias   reminded   you   on    liow  brittle  a 

(87) 


88  QUEXCH    NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

thread  hangs  our  present  life.  Death,  nurry- 
ing  into  eternity  first  one  and  then  another 
of  your  acquaintances,  has  said — "  Be  ye 
also  ready  !"  Conscience,  awaking  from  its 
habitual  torpor,  has  sometimes  sternly  called 
you  to  repent.  The  faithful  warning  of  a 
friend,  has  touched  your  heart.  A  casual 
word  in  conversation,  has  reminded  you  of 
duty,  guilt,  and  danger.  Sermons  have  oc- 
casionally appeared  aimed  at  yourself.  You 
have  trembled  under  the  threatenings  of  the 
Gospel.  You  have  been  melted  under  its 
earnest  expostulations.  The  love  of  Christ 
has  stirred  the  depths  of  your  soul.  There 
have  been  seasons  wdien  you  have  been  con- 
scious of  an  unusual  seriousness,  for  which 
vou  could  account  on  no  natural  principle. 
Eternity  has  been  presented  to  your  mind 
w^th  peculiar  solemnity.  God  has  seemed 
very  near.  You  have  experienced  strange 
promptings  to  pray  for  pardon,  and  for  grace 
to  lead  a  new  life.  You  have  been  conscious 
of  a  kindling  flame  of  desire  after  sometliing 


QUENCH    NOT   THE    SPIRIT.  89 

purer,  better,  more  enduring  tlian  this  world. 
A  still  small  voice  in  the  inner  sanctuary  of 
your  soul,  has  urged  you,  as  a  wandering 
child,  to  return  to  your  Father.  It  was  the 
voice  of  God !  Whatever  religious  advan- 
tages you  have  possessed,  were  given  by 
God.  Those  events  which  suggested  to  you 
eternal  trutlis,  were  ordained  by  God.  Those 
warnings  and  encouragements  of  the  Gos- 
pel which  impressed  your  mind,  were  indited 
by  the  Spirit  of  God.  That  natural  con- 
science which  often  appealed  to  you,  was 
implanted  by  God.  Those  holy  impulses, 
which,  if  improved,  would  have  led  to  your 
conversion,  were  not  produced  in  your 
wicked  heart  without  the  Holy  Spirit  of 
God.  You  were  dead  in  sin.  Death  could 
not  exhibit  such  symptoms  of  life.  Had 
God  not  visited  you  in  mercy,  such  good 
thoughts,  such  holy  desires,  never  would 
have  been  yours.  But  you  quenched  the 
Spirit !  By  refusing  to  follow  up  those  con- 
victions, by  procrastination,  by  plunging  in- 
8* 


90  QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

to  business  or  pleasure,  by  deliberate  sin,  you 
quenched  the  Spirit.  How  changed  you  now 
are  from  what  you  once  were !  You,  who 
could  not  .-i)eud  a  day  without  reading  the 
Bible  and  prayer,  have  no  inclination  for 
either.  You  indulge  in  sins,  the  very 
thought  of  which  was  once  hateful.  Per- 
haps you  still  hear  the  Gospel  preached. 
But  its  invitations  no  longer  draw  you  ;  its 
threatenings  do  not  alarm  you.  You  wonder 
that  you  should  ever  have  felt  earnestly 
about  that  which  now  kindles  no  interest. 
Others  tremble,  but  not  you.  Others  weep, 
but  not  you.  Afflictions  smite  the  rock  of 
your  heart,  but  no  streams  of  penitence  flow 
forth.  Your  soul  is  as  a  sandy  waste.  Seed 
is  scattered  on  it,  showers  water  it,  the  sun 
shines  on  it,  but  it  is  barren  still.  You 
know  all  that  can  be  said  about  religion,  and 
could  yourself  turn  preacher.  But  your 
heart  gives  no  response.  You  no  longer 
hear  the  voice  which  once  gently  pleaded 
with   you.     You   no   longer   feel   the   flame 


QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  91 

which  once  struggled  to  burn  up  witliin  you. 
You  have  quenched  the  Spirit !  Reader,  is 
this  your  case  ?  0,  ponder  prayerfully  the 
question — Have  you,  yes  you,  liave  YOU 
quenched  the  Spirit  ?  Are  you  NOW  quencli- 
ing  the  Spirit  ? 


XXVI. 

THE  FOLLY,  GUILT,  AND  DANGER,  OF  aUENCHING 
THE  SPIRIT. 

The  darkness  is  gathering  more  thickly 
all  round.  Your  fire  is  nearly  out.  You 
have  given  it  no  air,  no  fuel.  You  have  not 
stirred  it.  You  have  smothered  it  with  rub- 
bish. You  have  quenched  it  with  water. 
You  are  quenching  it  still.  Wonderful  that 
even  a  spark  remains !  Should  it  go  quite 
out,  you  must  dwell  in  the  cold  and  darkness 
of  an  eternal  winter  night !  Can  folly  sur- 
pass yours  ?  You  are  drinking  poison.  A 
kind  friend  tells  you  that  death  mingles  with 
that  sweetness.  He  entreats  you  to  cast 
that  cup  away.  He  gently  lays  hold  of  it, 
in  order  to  take  it  from  you.  But  you 
rudely  repel  him.  You  grasp  that  cup  more 
firmly.  You  quaff  it  with  fatal  determina- 
tion. Stupor  is  already  stealing  over  you. 
(9.2) 


QUENCH    NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  93 

Towards  a  precipice  down  wliicli  many  have 
fallen,  you  are  rushing,  as  if  ignorant  of  the 
danger.  One  wlio  loves  you,  and  lias  anx- 
iously watched  you,  runs  to  meet  you,  and 
with  kind  arm  detains  you.  He  points  out 
the  peril,  warns,  expostulates,  struggles  with 
you.  But  you  resist  him,  throw  liim  from 
you,  and  rush  downwards  to  perdition  ! 

Whom  do  you  treat  thus  ?  It  is  God  him- 
self !  He  who  made  you  !  He  who  will  be 
your  judge  !  What  daring  impiety  to  oppose 
his  will !  While  the  irrational  universe  obeys 
Him,  you  oppose  Him.  Your  capacity  of 
rendering  Him  willing  service,  makes  resist- 
ance possible.  And  this  }ou  dare  to  ven- 
ture on  !  You  fight  against  God !  And  you 
oppose  Him  wlien  striving  with  you  to  make 
you  happy  !  You  persist  in  rebellion,  when 
He  is  entreating  you  to  be  reconciled  !  You 
insult  Him,  when  offering  gifts  !  You  strike 
at  your  Father,  while  He  is  in  the  act  of 
inviting  you  liome ! 

Must  not  your  ruin  correspond  with  your 


94  QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

guilt  ?  Woe  unto  him  tliat  strivetli  with  his 
Maker !"  How  will  you  dare  to  meet  Him 
at  the  last  great  day  ?  What  defence  can 
you  set  up?  What  plea  in  arrest  of  judg- 
ment ?  Will  not  tlic  final  sentence  be  pro- 
nounced by  your  own  conscience,  as  well  as 
by  the  Judge  ?  How  terrible  the  reflections 
of  a  lost  soul  who  has  quenched  the  Spirit ! 
'  That  holy  flame  once  burnt  in  me,  but  I  put 
it  out !  I  loved  darkness,  and  I  am  now  filled 
with  it !  I  might  have  "  sowed  to  the 
Spirit,"  and  reaped  "  life  everlasting  f  but  I 
"  sowed  to  the  flesh,"  and  must  now,  for 
ever,  "reap  corruption."  This  deadly  har- 
vest is  of  ray  own  raising.  I  put  out  the 
divine  flame  of  love,  and  lighted  up  instead 
these  fires  of  torment,  which  reveal  only  the 
blackness  of  my  despair.  This  worm  that 
gnaws  me  was  created  by  myself.  I  who  am 
now  in  hell,  with  "  the  devil  and  his  angels," 
might  have  been  in  heaven,  a  companion  of 
glorified  saints  ;  for  I  am  not  lost  because 
the  Spirit's   fire  was   never  kindled   in  my 


QUENCH   NOT   THE    SPIRIT.  95 

heart,  but  because  I  quenched  the  Spirit !' 
This  is  not  yet  your  terrible  experience,  but 
it  may  soon  be  so.  Will  you  continue  to 
strive  against  God,  as  if  the  opportunity  of 
yielding  to  Ilim  would  always  remain?  Will 
you  keep  pouring  water  on  the  fire  as  if  it 
would  never  go  quite  out,  and  as  if,  when- 
ever you  pleased,  you  could  make  it  burn 
up  ?  0  be  warned  by  the  following  narra- 
tive, which  was  sent  to  the  author  by  a  be- 
loved brotlier  in  the  ministry,  while  these 
pages  were  being  penned. 

"  I  can  never  forget  tlie  companion  of  my 
youth.  He  was  the  child  of  many  prayers 
and  parental  anxieties.  He  liad  heard  the 
Gospel  from  his  childliood,  from  the  lips  of 
my  own  honored,  and  now  sainted  father.  I 
believe  he  was  at  times  the  subject  of  strong 
religious  convictions.  But  as  he  grew  up, 
he  was  led  astray  by  his  sinful  lusts  and 
passions ;  a  stranger  to  prayer  and  the 
Sacred  Volume.  When  he  arrived  at  man- 
hood, he   was   seized   with   a   fatal   malady 


96  QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

which  laid  him  prostrate  on  his  bed.  In- 
stead of  '  calling  upon  God'  in  the  '  time  of 
trouble,'  like  Almz  he  '  rebelled  yet  more 
against  the  Lord.'  His  friends  perceived 
that  his  end  drew  near,  and  that  he  must 
soon  enter  the  eternal  state.  He  was  visited 
by  one  of  my  sisters,  who  urged  him  to  seek 
salvation,  ere  it  was  too  late.  He  proudly 
scorned  the  admonition  and  despised  the 
reproof.  As  the  sands  in  the  hour-glass  of 
the  young  man's  life  were  fast  running  out, 
my  sister  again  attempted  to  rouse  him  to 
serious  thought  and  prayer  ;  and  asked  if 
she  might  be  allowed  to  read  to  him  a  por- 
tion of  God's  word.  He  sternly  resisted 
the  offer.  In  a  few  moments,  however,  tlie 
poor  dying  man,  as  if  startled  by  a  thunder- 
bolt, and  with  glaring  eye-balls,  exclaimed 
with  vehemence,  '  Read !  Read  !  I  shall  be 
in  hell  in  a  moment.'  But  alas  !  before  he 
could  hear  one  word,  the  Spirit  had  fled, 
and  returned  to  God  who  gave  it." 

Reader!  take   warning   before   it   is   too 


QUENCH    NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  97 

late!  You  may  now  be  qucncliiDg  the  Spirit. 
If  you  persevere,  you  may  succeed!  Terri- 
ble success  !  Most  awful  suicide !  The  liglit 
of  God  in  your  soul  extinguished  for  ever ! 
Should  the  Spirit  be  totally  quenched,  you 
would  be  totally  lost !  Already  you  have 
done  much  towards  it !  A  few  more  attempts, 
and  the  last  sparii  may  go  out !  Stop,  sin- 
ner, in  this  mad  ejQFort  to  destroy  yourself — 
and  before  the  black  darkness  of  eternal 
night  settles  hopelessly  upon  you — before 
that  last  spark  disappears,  listen  to  the  kind 
warning  of  the  God  who  kindled  it — 
'''  Quench  not  the  Spirit.'* 
9 


XXYII. 

HOPE  FOR  ALL. 

Yes,  reader,  who  fearest  thou  hast 
quenched  the  Spirit  for  ever,  there  is  hope 
for  thee  !  The  last  spark  cannot  be  put  out 
where  tliere  is  the  least  wish  to  be  saved. 
Say  not  "  it  is  too  late."  If  not  too  late  to 
desire,  not  too  late  to  obtain.  Dost  thou,  even 
now,  wish  to  be  taught,  led,  sanctified,  by  the 
Spirit?  These  desires  are  at  least  sparks, 
which  may  be  stirred  up  to  a  flame.  Howe 
says—"  To  such  as  live  under  the  Gospel, 
there  is  generally  afforded  '  common  grace,' 
and  a  day  wherein  to  provide  for  their  peace. 
Though  this  grace  is  not  certainly  saving, 
yet  it  tends  to  that  which  is  so.  And  none 
has  cause  to  despair,  but  that  being  duly 
improved  it  may  end  in  it."  Improve  what 
God  has  given  you,  and  He  will  give  you 
more.  Fan  the  faint  spark,  and  the  saving 
fire  will  burn  ! 


QUENCH    NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  99 

Perhaps  you  fear  you  liave  committecl  the 
unpardonable  "  sin  against  tlie  Holy  Ghost.'"' 
Be  sure  that  if  you  dread  it,  you  have  not 
committed  it.  Many  think  that  Christ  re- 
ferred only  to  those  who  attributed  the  mira- 
cles they  saw  to  the  devil,  and  therefore  that 
this  sin  cannot  now  be  committed.  This, 
however,  is  certain,  that  He  spoke  of  a  state 
of  mind  cut  off  from  pardon,  only  because  it 
cut  itself  off  from  penitence.  In  place  of  this 
one  dark  text,  think  of  the  hundred  plain 
ones  which  declare  that  every  sinner  wlio  re- 
pents is  forgiven,  and  that  all  who  ask  re- 
ceive. We  are  therefore  sure  that  any  sin 
which  is  unpardonable,  is  never  repented  of. 
If  you  had  committed  it,  you  would  not  be 
anxious  aljout  it.  You  would  go  on  in  sin, 
hardened  and  reckless.  But  you  are  alarmed 
and  distressed.  You  would  give  worlds  for 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  help  you.  Rejoice  !  This 
is  a  proof  that  He  is  already  helping  you! 
Your  fear  of  having  driven  Him  quite  avray, 
is  a  sign  tlia*-  He  still  lingers.     Jf -us  said-- 


100  QUENCH   NOT    THE   SPIRIT. 

"  Him  that  cometli  unto  me,  I  will  in  no  wise 
cast  ouV  If  your  prayer  is — "  Have  mercy 
upon  me  a  sinner" — whatever  your  fears  about 
an  unpardonable  sin,  be  sure  that  you  have 
not  committed  it — because  Jesus  said  that  if 
only  we  come  to  Him^  on  no  account  whatever 
shall  we  be  rejected.  Come  then  to  Him  in 
confidence  !  Ask  Him  to  cleanse  you  by  liis 
blood  from  all  your  sins  against  his  Spirit. 
Pray  earnestly  for  the  Holy  Ghost.  You 
cannot  pray  in  vain.  He  is  a  loving  Spirit. 
He  long  strove  to  keep  alive  the  holy  lire  in 
your  heart,  while  you  were  quenching  it.  Will 
He  not,  now  that  you  are  ivilUng,  do  that 
which  He  was  so  long  waiting  to  do  while 
you  were  unwilling  f  It  is  not  yet  too  late  ! 
All  who  desire  may  obtain  !  There  is  hope 
for  all !     There  is  hope  for  YOU  ! 


XXYIII. 

•'QUENCH  NOT  THE  SPIEIT." 

Reader,  this  little  book  says  once  more — 
"  Quench  not  the  Spirit."  As  none  need  de- 
spair of  the  promise,  so  none  sliould  neglect 
tlie  warning.  ''  Grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit 
of  God."  He  warns  you  of  danger,  points 
you  to  Jesus,  beckons  you  to  heaven.  You 
may  grieve  Him  too  long.  You  may  grieve 
Him  away  !  What  nuid  enterprise  is  this  on 
which  you  seem  so  bent  ?  Sabbath  after 
Sabbath,  year  after  year,  unstable  in  other 
things,  constant  in  this,  do  you  consider  with 
whom  it  is  you  war  ?  Is  He  your  enemy  ? 
Where  will  you  iind  such  a  friend  ?  If  you 
drive  Him  away,  who  will  wrest  from  you 
the  poisoned  cup  ?  Who  will  rouse  you  from 
the  sleep  of  deatli  ?  Who  will  check  your 
progress  to  hell  ?  Stay,  sinner,  stay  that  su- 
icidal hand  whicli,  while  resisting  Him,  is 
9*  (101) 


102  QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

aiming:  fatal  blows  at  yourself  !  Cease,  sin- 
ner,  cease  to  pour  water  on  a  fire,  the  quench- 
ing of  which  will  be  your  damnation. 

Life  has  its  critical  opportunities  which,  if 
neglected,  never  return.  There  are  times 
when  the  Spirit  specially  strives  in  human 
souls.  A  spark  is  struck  whicli  may  be 
quenched,  or  kindled.  The  Spirit  may  again 
be  working  in  thee,  reader,  by  means  of  tliis 
tract.  Shall  its  appeal  become  a  '•  savor 
of  death  unto  death  ?"  If  in  spite  of  it,  you 
still  quench  the  Spirit,  it  were  better  you  had 
never  read  it.  As  a  footpath  becomes  hard- 
er the  more  it  is  trodden,  so  will  your  heart 
be  less  impressible,  if  you  trifle  with  the  con- 
victions now  awakened.  I  have  seen  a  tor- 
rent, after  heavy  rains,  burst  down  the  moun- 
tain-side, and  when  it  had  passed  away,  I 
have  examined  its  stony  channel.  Rich  soil 
had  been  there,  with  trees,  grass,  flowers,  but 
these  were  swept  away,  and  the  bare  rock 
was  left  exposed.  But  how  much  more  ster- 
ile the  soul,  through  wliich  a  stream  of  relig- 


QUEXCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  103 

ions  feeling  passes  unimproved  !  Shall  it 
be  true  of  you — "  The  last  state  of  tliat  man 
is  worse  than  the  first  ?"  If  not  before,  the 
Spirit  will  altogether  cease  to  strive  at 
death  !  You  seem  to  think  there  is  an  end- 
less store  of  divine  influences.  But  as  "  the 
hairs  of  your  head,"  so  the  moments  of  your 
life  "  are  all  numbered."  And  the  strivings 
of  the  Spirit  are  numbered.  You  act  as  if 
to-morrows  were  as  abundant  and  certain  as 
yesterdays !  The  day  of  grace  has  its  eve- 
ning as  surely  as  every  other  day.  Niglit  may 
come  on  suddenly,  without  any  premonitory 
twilight.  Darkness  profound,  eternal,  may 
wrap  its  funeral  pall  around  you,  while  you 
are  dreaming  of  many  future  opportunities 
of  salvation.  The  warning  of  this  closing 
page  may  be  the  last.  Death  may  at  this 
moment  be  aiming  his  fatal  dart.  When  it 
strikes  you,  the  Spirit  leaves  you.  No  more 
warnings  then,  no  more  offers  of  mercy,  no 
more  inclination  to  seek  God,  no  more  possi- 


104:  QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT. 

bility  of  finding  Him  !  "He  that  is  unjust, 
let  him  be  unjust  still !"  0,  then — "  Quench 
not  the  Spirit !"  By  the  blackness  of  that 
night,  the  depth  of  that  despair,  into  which 
you  would  be  plunged  should  you  succeed  in 
your  determined  resistance  to  Divine  Grace 
— *'  Quench  not  the  Spirit !"  By  the  fate  of 
thousands  who,  by  pursuing  your  present 
course,  are  now  in  Hell — "  Quench  not  the 
Spirit !"  By  the  compassion  of  the  Father, 
who  desiretli  not  the  death  of  a  sinner  ;  by 
the  love  of  the  Son,  who  died  for  the  most 
guilty  ;  by  the  patience  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
whose  efforts  for  your  salvation  you  have  so 
long  resisted — "  Quench  not  the  Spirit !" 

Spirit  of  God  !  have  mercy  on  one  of  the 
chief  of  sinners  !  Of  what  folly,  what  in- 
gratitude, what  daring  impiety,  have  I  been 
guilty,  while  quenching  Thee !  Leave  me 
not  to  myself!  Let  not  the  feeble  spark 
which  prompts  me  to  offer  this  prayer  go  out, 
but    fan  it  to   a  flame !      Enlighten,  melt 


QUENCH   NOT   THE   SPIRIT.  105 

mould,  purify  my  soul !  Lead  me  to  Christ ! 
Conform  me  to  his  will !  Fit  me  for  heav- 
en !  0,  thou  insulted  but  long-suffering  Spir- 
it, have  mercy  upon  me  ! 

In  the  name  of  Jesus — Amen  ! 


THE   END. 


1315SB  ilBRAKY 


)'JTHERN  REG 


'ONAL  LIBRARY  PaciL'Ty 


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